INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Overseas Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding was provided by  (a) the UK and  (b) the EU in the form of aid to African countries in each of the last five years, broken down by country.

Douglas Alexander: I have placed in the Library a table which details the level of Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the United Kingdom, the EU15 and European Commission to African countries over the period 2002-06. I have also included data on the level of UK ODA to African countries in 2007.

Africa: Trade

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is supporting to promote trade between African countries.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development's (DFID) work to facilitate trade between African countries is mainly focused in east and southern Africa. In east Africa, DFID is preparing a major new regional programme which will help to facilitate trade between East African Community member states (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi). It will focus on reducing the costs of trading across borders by supporting one stop border posts, customs reforms and the development of revenue sharing arrangements between countries.
	In southern Africa, DFID funds the Regional Trade Facilitation Programme. This aims to make it quicker and easier for businesses to trade between countries. Important activities include harmonisation of trade-related regulations and procedures, introduction of one stop border posts, and promotion of exports into the south African market.

Africa: Trade

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is supporting to promote the manufacture of goods marketed in finished form from Africa, rather than the export of raw materials.

Ivan Lewis: Much of Sub-Saharan Africa has been a relatively difficult place for manufacturing activities. Key reasons for this are poor infrastructure, particularly roads, ports and power infrastructure, a poor business environment and restrictive rules of origin in trade agreements.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) works on all of these agendas. For example, DFID provides support to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA). This encourages a joined-up approach among donors and partner governments to meet Africa's urgent infrastructure needs. We also provide support to the Investment Climate Facility for Africa which is a new private-public partnership, focused on improving the investment climate in African countries.
	DFID's soon to be launched Aid for Trade Strategy will set out how we will support countries to become more competitive traders. In parallel, DFID continues to press for more development-friendly trade agreements with African countries. This is particularly evident in the ongoing negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), where we are arguing for more liberal rules of origin for African exports.

Burma: International Assistance

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to encourage other donors to contribute to the joint UN-NGO fund in response to the cyclone in Burma, launched on 10th July.

Michael Foster: On 9 July the Secretary of State for International Development wrote to a range of like-minded development Ministers urging them to offer generous support to the UN appeal for Burma which was to be launched the following day. The Secretary of State has also offered to support the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, in his efforts to encourage other donors to contribute more to the UN appeal. The Department for International Development (DFID) and Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) officials have followed up through bilateral contacts with other donors and in international forums.
	The Secretary-General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, is also working to encourage other donors to increase their contributions to the Burma cyclone relief effort.

Cuba: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what financial and other support the Government has provided directly or via multilateral agencies to assist with reconstruction in Cuba following hurricanes Gustav and Ike; and whether further assistance is planned;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the progress of reconstruction in Cuba following hurricanes Gustav and Ike; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £250,000 in direct humanitarian aid to Cuba through the International Red Cross for shelter material and water filters for some 40,000 people. In addition, the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has announced a relief contribution of €2 million, of which 17.5 per cent. is funded by DFID. The United Nations Relief Agencies have mobilised $8.6 million for relief and rehabilitation works in Cuba, $1.6 million of which is funded by DFID through the UN. However, the UN remains in negotiation with the Cuban authorities on full access and co-operation in order to use that money. We also understand that the Cuban government have received offers totalling $30.5 million from a number of countries to assist with their reconstruction and emergency response efforts following the impact of the recent hurricanes.
	Beyond humanitarian relief we do not provide direct reconstruction or long-term development aid to Cuba. We do not have direct access in Cuba either for making our own assessments of humanitarian or reconstruction needs and rely on assessments and programmes undertaken by international agencies such as the World Bank.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's rest and recuperation leave policy for civilians working in operational theatres.

Douglas Alexander: Arrangements for rest and recuperation leave ("breather breaks") are developed in response to specific operational needs and the changing context of each country. They currently apply to staff working Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Employees are entitled to a two week break away from post for every six weeks worked. Breaks are usually taken within the employee's home country but can be taken elsewhere on condition that this is of equal or lesser cost.

Departmental Marketing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of Government-commissioned advertising in the last 12 months relating to matters falling within the remit of his Department.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) main area of advertising spend is recruitment and procurement advertising which is assessed in terms of response rate and quality. However, DFID is introducing an e-enabled recruitment system that will help with this evaluation in the future.
	In the last 12 months DFID has moved increasingly towards advertising via electronic media, which is much easier to track and evaluate in terms of responses to adverts and in terms of which method provides the best value for money. This is an ongoing process and the results are being used to inform future campaigns and promotional work.
	DFID is committed to reducing the cost of advertising generally by the use of more focused advertisements and through maximising discounts through the Central Office of Information.

Departmental Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Douglas Alexander: DFID paid a total of £641,510 in non-consolidated performance bonuses to 71 senior civil servants in the last year in recognition of their performance during the 2007-08 reporting year.
	DFID's reward arrangements for the 2007-08 financial year did not allow for the payment of end of year performance bonuses to staff below the senior civil service.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1043W, on departmental public expenditure, whether the programmes to which underspend can be re-allocated must be within the same country budget as the programme in which the underspend occurred.

Douglas Alexander: Underspends on programmes do not have to be reallocated to other programmes within the same country budget.

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Code, all external appointments to the Department for International Development (DFID) are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
	Job advertisements for vacancies at the Department for International Development (DFID) are placed in the national press or specialised magazines, in addition to appearing on DFID's own website and on the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway website. DFID does not routinely use recruitment consultants to fill vacancies for permanent posts. However, the central framework of executive search services, which is owned by the Cabinet Office, was used in February 2008 to engage Russell Reynolds Associates, at a cost of £43,671, to help identify suitable applicants for the post of Permanent Secretary in DFID.
	DFID also periodically engages temporary staff through recruitment agencies, mainly in administrative grades. A management fee is included in the salary costs for each person supplied by the agency, but it is not possible to disaggregate the management fees from the total amount charged by the agencies without incurring disproportionate costs.
	DFID's total spend on recruitment advertising for each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2003-04 £519,331 
			 2004-05 £534,731 
			 2005-06 £348,502 
			 2006-07 £425,961 
			 2007-08 £199,758

Overseas Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken  (a) to ensure that UK aid reaches its intended targets and  (b) to reduce fraud.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development has a strong set of controls to manage the risk of misuse of funds. Throughout the management of our programmes, there is a strong emphasis on establishing comprehensive arrangements to guard against fiduciary risks. The rules of UK Government accounting are rigorously applied.
	DFID checks on the use of funds by requiring recipients to provide audited financial statements and by conducting annual monitoring reviews. DFID's programme management is supported by regular audits by DFID's Internal Audit Department and the National Audit Office, both providing further evidence of the correct use of aid funds.
	Within DFID's fraud policy specific actions to reduce the incidence of fraud include:
	DFID's programmes are designed to respond from the outset to the risks of fraud or corruption which are identified through planning tools such as the fiduciary risk assessment;
	A specialist Counter Fraud Unit coordinates DFID's response to allegations or suspicions of fraud and corruption, and provides support to management to strengthen systems and processes to prevent or detect future losses; and
	Action is taken to recover funds which are lost, and DFID takes a robust approach in dealing with anyone found to have diverted UK aid funds away from their intended recipients. This includes disciplinary sanctions, criminal prosecutions, recovery of losses and the suspension of aid.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Buildings

Ben Chapman: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much space, in square feet, was occupied by all House staff in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: Figures on this basis are not readily available. Evidence given to the Administration Committee in March 2006 showed the total floor area occupied by House staff was 13,140 sq m (Third Report 2005-06, HC 1279, p Ev 52). Details of the size of the different buildings on the parliamentary estate were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 13 November 2007,  Official  Report, column 87W.

Palace of Westminster

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what representations the Commission has received from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment on the erection of temporary structures on the Terrace; what the Commission's policy is on the erection and dismantling of such structures; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment has advised that the erection of temporary structures on the Terrace is more a matter for the local planning authority advised by English Heritage rather than their organisation.
	The House does not have a policy on the erection of temporary structures, the matter being delegated to the Director General of Facilities who will consult the appropriate authorities according to the sensitivity of the proposal.
	Conservation bodies have expressed concern for some time about the appearance of the marquees on the Terrace. However, Members and their visitors greatly value the facilities they provide and they are in considerable demand. The existing structures are, however, coming to the end of their economic life. The question of their replacement will need to be addressed soon requiring wide consultation in both Houses before deciding on a way forward.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Conference Centres: South East

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to support the development of improved large conference facilities in the South East.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 17 October 2008
	The Department for Communities and Local Government does not actively support or engage in the development of improved large conference facilities in the south-east. Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6): 'Planning for Town Centres' sets out the Government's national policies for town centres and main town centre uses, including the provision of conference facilities.

Fire Prevention: Advisory Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to regulate the work of fire assessors, with particular reference to the accuracy of advice provided by them.

Sadiq Khan: The Government have no plans to regulate the work of fire safety risk advisors or assessors.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the latest estimated date is for when each of the nine regional fire control centres will become operational.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 13 October 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 2 June 2008,  Official Report, column 541W which set out the timetable for the project. Since then, proposed changes to the hardware solution and issues regarding access to the Airwave infrastructure for testing suggest that some rescheduling of the project may be required. The implications of these points are currently being considered and if timescales do need to change an announcement will be made in due course.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to review the Regional Controls Centre Physical Access Control and Security Policy for Regional Controls document; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The regional control centres buildings are part of the Critical National Infrastructure and have been subject to thorough risk assessments in accordance with Government security policy and guidance as well as ISO 27001/17799 best practice and standards. There are no plans to review the guidance material developed that has been issued covering physical access control and security policy for the regional control centres
	We are providing support to the local authority controlling companies who manage the regional control centres and who will create their own access control and security policies based on the guidance material.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the savings generated by the 2007 National Review of the FiReControl Project Business Case were allocated, broken down by sub-heading; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The savings generated in the FiReControl Full Business Case v1.0, which was published in June 2007, are broken down as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Cost element  Estimated annual operating costs for FiReControl  Current control room annual operating cost estimates  Savings 
			 Staff 34 60 26 
			 Accommodation 13 4 -9 
			 IT Services 18 16 -2 
			 Group Services 1 n/a -1 
			 Total 66 80 14 
		
	
	Part 2 of the 2008 National Business Case to be published later this year will provide updated information.

Fire Services: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value was of public sector pensions in the fire service in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year.

Sadiq Khan: The value of firefighters' pensions(1 )in each of the last five years is as follows
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total pensions outgo 399.492 443.019 489.258 453.622 491.571 
			 Cost to public purse (3)n/a 327.606 362.895 346.469 370.564 
			 (1) These are locally administered schemes and data are provided by fire and rescue authorities. (2) Net of employees' contributions of 11 per cent. of pensionable pay for the 1992 firefighters' pension scheme and 8.5 per cent. for the 2006 new fire-fighters' pension scheme and inward transfers from other pensions schemes (3) Data on employee contributions and transfer values are not collected centrally.

Floods: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what hydrological assessments have been made of the state of water courses and consequential flood risk in rural Bassetlaw since 1978.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
	From 1996 the Environment Agency can confirm the following work has been undertaken:
	Idle & Torne Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy (CAMS) which was published in March 2007.
	Hydrological investigations have been carried out for Anglian Water (by Grontmij) on the River Poulter and River Idle.
	Groundwater abstractions operated by Yorkshire Water in the area of the River Idle have been reviewed to ascertain whether they were having an impact on the wellbeing of the River Idle Washlands.
	In December 2006 the Environment Agency produced the River Idle Washlands SSSI Water Level Management Plan (WLMP).
	The Environment Agency are currently working on the building of a regional groundwater model for the East Midlands Yorkshire Sherwood Sandstone Model. This is due to be completed by the end of this financial year.
	Following the flooding of June 2007 the Environment Agency commissioned consultants to produce reports about the events that occurred in Worksop and Retford.
	The Environment Agency has carried out the following mapping studies, which include hydrological analyses, within the Bassetlaw constituency:
	River Idle Flood Risk Mapping, March 2005
	River Maun, Strategic Flood Risk Mapping, March 2007
	River Meden, Strategic Flood Risk Mapping, June 2008
	River Ryton, Strategic Flood Risk Mapping, March 2008
	Tidal Trent Strategy, April 2005
	Laneham Beck Strategic Flood Risk Mapping, 2007.
	Information on studies carried out pre-1996 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government: Bank Services

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what advice and when her Department has provided to local authorities on financial investment risk since January 2007;
	(2)  on what dates and by whom local authorities were provided with risk advice on investments in 2007 and 2008.

John Healey: CLG's current guidance on local government investments issued under section 15 of the Local Government Act 2003 is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/capital/data/lginvest2.pdf.

Local Government: Bank Services

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have identified a severe short-term financial difficulty as result of the financial collapse of an Icelandic bank; and what assessment she has made of the extent of the difficulty in each case.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 17 October,  Official Report, column 1577W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) arrested,  (b) cautioned and  (c) proceeded against for buying or attempting to buy alcohol for someone under age in each of the last three years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 17 October 2008
	The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally. The offence of buying or attempting to buy alcohol for someone under age is not a notifiable offence and does not form a part of the arrests collection.
	In relation to those cautioned and proceeded against for the offence of buying or attempting to buy alcohol for someone under age; I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing, my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 23 April 2008,  Official Report, column 2146W.
	Data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.

Asylum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has conducted a review of  (a) financial and  (b) other support provided to people at all stages of the asylum process.

Phil Woolas: Asylum seekers who are destitute, or likely to become destitute, are provided with support under sections 95 and 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 from the time they arrive in the UK until their claim has been fully determined. This support takes the form of cash subsistence or accommodation, or both. Failed asylum seekers can receive support, as accommodation and non-cash vouchers, under section 4 of the Act if they would otherwise be destitute and they are taking reasonable steps to return or are able to point to a legitimate barrier to their return.
	Cash subsistence support rates for asylum seekers supported under section 95 are reviewed annually.
	In January 2008 new regulations came into force following a review and public consultation on essential living needs not connected with the provision of accommodation under section 4 for the most vulnerable.
	Regional Target Contracts for the provision of accommodation across the UK were introduced from 2006 following a review which identified how contractual improvements could be made.
	We are currently holding regional meetings with stakeholders to seek a range of views on how to improve the way we provide asylum support to asylum seekers, including those unsuccessful in their claim.

Detention Centres

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish her Department's evaluation of the alternatives to detention scheme at Millbank, Ashford, Kent.

Phil Woolas: An independent consultant was recruited to carry out an assessment of the pilot. The report is being finalised and the findings will be published by the end of December 2008.

Detention Centres

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department expects the capacity of the immigration detention estate to be in  (a) October 2009,  (b) October 2010,  (c) October 2011 and  (d) October 2012.

Phil Woolas: In October 2009, on current plans, we expect 3,160 places; and in October 2010, 3,178 places. This reflects the anticipated loss of the Oakington centre over this period. The capacity of the estate beyond 2010 will depend, in particular, on the progress of our plans for the Home Office owned site outside Bicester and the land adjacent to the existing Yarl's Wood removal centre. We anticipate that development at one of those sites will add 400 to 600 beds to the estate by 2012.

Emergency Services: Radio

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the Airwave programme; and what discussions she has had with the Department of Health on the rollout of the programme to the Ambulance Service.

Vernon Coaker: The Airwave service is being used operationally by all police forces in England, Wales and Scotland including the British Transport Police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Several changes to the service have been made since the original contract was signed in February 2000. These comprise enhancements to resilience and fallback arrangements, plus an extension of the service to include coverage within the London Underground. The testing and release for operational use of the 125 underground stations is due to be completed by 30 March 2009. I hope to be able to provide an update on this in the near future.
	The rollout of Airwave to the Ambulance Service, which is still in progress, has been carried out under a separate contract between the Department of Health and Airwave Solutions Limited. Programme management rests with the Department of Health but the police service and the Ambulance Service have appropriate consultation processes in place to progress areas of common interest such as interoperability.

Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of 15 May 2008,  Official Report, column 1733W and 5 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1126W, on human trafficking, for what offences the 84 convictions were secured.

Jacqui Smith: The 84 convictions are for human trafficking and related offences, including rape, inciting prostitution, false imprisonment and immigration offences.

Immigrants: Fees and Charges

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of its fee income from immigration documents and services for  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) each of the subsequent three financial years.

Phil Woolas: Our estimate of fee income for 2008-09 from visa application is £300 million.
	Our estimate of fee income for 2008-09 from in country application is £350 million.
	Forecasts are subject to change on a regular basis, at least quarterly; sometimes more frequently than that, as they are revised to account for various events that we believe will impact upon demand.
	We are reviewing the position next year in the run-up to laying fees orders and as part of the development of business plan for next year. We do not currently have estimates of fee income for the subsequent three years at the moment as fees have not yet been set for future years.

Immigrants: Police Custody

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Immigration Service detainees were held in police cells in each police force area in each year since 2001.

Phil Woolas: The information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Offensive Weapons: Young People

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many successful prosecutions have been brought against those arrested for the sale of knives to underage persons through commercial premises in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many prosecutions for the sale of knives to underage persons have been brought against commercial premises in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many successful prosecutions have been brought against those arrested for the sale of knives to underage persons through internet sites and mail order companies in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the last 10 years;
	(4)  how many prosecutions for the sale of knives to underage persons have been brought against internet sites and mail order companies in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: The available information on prosecutions and convictions for this offence is in the following table. Information does not distinguish individuals prosecuted or convicted. 2007 figures will be published in November 2008. On 1 October 2007 it became illegal to sell a knife to anyone under 18; previously the minimum age was 16.
	
		
			  Number of prosecutions( 1)  and convictions( 2)  for offences relating to sale of a knife to a person under 16 years in England, and Wales 1997 to 2006( 3, 4) 
			 England  England: of which  (i.e. these figures are included in the England figures) are Others (i.e. companies etc)  Wales  Wales: of which (i.e. these figures are included in the Wales figures) are Others(i.e. companies etc) 
			  Offence description  Statute  Year  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Any person who sells to a person under age of 16 years a knife; knife blade, razor blade, axe and any other article which has a blade, that is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person. Criminal Justice Act 1988, sec 141A as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996, sec 6(1) 1997 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   1998 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			   1999 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			   2000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   2001 6 5 5 4 3 3 0 0 
			   2002 11 10 7 7 0 0 0 0 
			   2003 15 15 7 7 2 2 1 1 
			   2004 9 7 5 4 2 2 0 0 
			   2005 29 26 8 7 0 0 0 0 
			   2006 62 50 20 16 1 1 0 0 
			 (1) Prosecution data for England and Wales relate to the number of defendants which includes male, female and others. The Others column shows the number of prosecutions for others (i.e. companies). This figure is already included in the respective areas' figures. (2) Conviction data for England and Wales relate to the number of defendants which includes male, female and others. The Others column shows the number of convictions for others (i.e. companies). This figure is already included in the respective areas' figures. (3) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit

Smuggling: Meat

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal meat imports were seized at port of entry in each of the last three years; what the  (a) estimated market value and  (b) weight of such seizures was in each year; what assessment she has made of the recent trends in these figures; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Information on the number and weight of illegal meat seizures at GB points of entry are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of seizures  Total weight (kg) 
			 2005-06 14,698 82,110 
			 2006-07 19,222 73,012 
			 2007-08 14,067 77,230 
		
	
	Anti-smuggling controls on illegal imports of products of animal origin are designed to prevent the introduction of animal disease so the value of goods seized is not relevant in this context and therefore is not recorded.
	Customs continue to target the animal products and routes that pose the greatest animal disease risk, taking account of the latest veterinary risk assessments. The increase in seizures in 2006-07 can be attributed to the additional resources deployed to tackle the threat from Avian Influenza during that period. More recently there are also some indications of increased compliance among the travelling public following HMRC's awareness-raising campaigns.

Terrorism

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the statement of 15 December 2005,  Official Report, columns 167-71WS, on counter-terrorism: progress report, what progress has been made on the development of a database of individuals who have demonstrated unacceptable behaviour.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 17 October 2008
	Since August 2005, 79 such individuals have to date been excluded from entering this country and placed on the watch list. This is on-going work which is being taken forward in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, police, various community groups, and others who bring to our attention individuals who are considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour.

UK Border Agency: Boats

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the United Kingdom coastline is patrolled at least once a week by maritime craft from  (a) the UK Border Agency and  (b) other agencies engaged in border patrol.

Phil Woolas: UK Border Agency cutters are deployed on an intelligence-led basis to areas of highest risk. It is longstanding policy not to divulge details of operational deployments, as this could provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent relevant controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention of crime.
	UKBA does not record details of operations carried out by other agencies involved in border patrols.

UK Border Agency: Land

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) property and  (b) land owned by the UK Border Agency is not in full-time use; and what the estimated market value is of each such holding.

Phil Woolas: Bullington (formerly known as Bicester) is the only freehold property which is owned by the UK Border Agency but not in full-time use. No land is in part-time use. Current open market valuation in respect of this property is not available.

UK Border Agency: Land

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the UK Border Agency expects to pay in rent to  (a) other public bodies,  (b) local authorities and  (c) Government Departments for buildings and land in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border and Immigration Agency expects to pay rent of  (a) £630,340 to other public bodies;  (b) £42,120 to local authorities; and  (c) £793,732 to Government Departments for buildings and land in 2008-09.

UK Border Agency: Land

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) buildings and  (b) land are (i) owned and (ii) leased by the UK Border Agency; and how many full-time equivalent staff are based at each.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency owns four detention centres located at Harmondsworth, Colnbrook, Campsfield and Dungavel. 26.5 full-time equivalent staff are employed at these locations.
	A further 96 buildings are leased. 17,463 staff are based at these locations.
	Details of the numbers of staff based at each location will be published on the UK Border Agency website by the end of the year.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Yorkshire

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government has taken to improve business development in  (a) Leeds and  (b) Yorkshire since 2000.

Patrick McFadden: Since 2000 the Government have helped to ensure business success by promoting the creation and growth of business and a strong enterprise economy across all regions, ensuring that all Government Departments and agencies deliver better regulation for the private, public and third sectors and delivering free and fair markets, with greater competition, for businesses, consumers and employees.
	Since 2000 the regional development agencies (RDAs) have been charged with stimulating the economic regeneration of the English regions through regional economic strategies.
	The RDA for Yorkshire and the Humber, Yorkshire Forward, working together with local authorities and other regeneration organisations, has supported the building of a stronger, mixed economy that combines a strong service sector with a higher value manufacturing sector, with more people starting their own businesses and new businesses that survive longer. As a result, the region's economy has been transformed following the decline in core traditional industries and recovered well from natural disasters such as foot and mouth in 2001 and flooding in 2007. Latest data to 2006 show it has had consecutive years of growth above the EU average.
	Latest statistics show there were over 350,000 businesses in the Yorkshire and the Humber region at the start of 2007, up by 94,000 (37 per cent.) from 256,000 in 2001.
	Yorkshire Forward has been leading on the simplification of business support provision in the region. The most significant change for business so far has been the rationalisation of the Business Link network and the development of a single regional gateway to business support (Business Link Yorkshire) that was launched in April 2008. This will significantly reduce the duplication of services, provide greater clarity, and redirect resources into front-line support services for businesses in the region. Yorkshire Forward also plans to make significant changes to its own support mechanisms, to focus on supporting six core programmes of activity that aid the overall start up and growth of a business.
	Examples of specific support programmes that have supported business development include:
	Objective 1 European Funding for South Yorkshire—where the 2000-06 programme worth a total of £2.4 billion (including over £770 million from the European Union's Structural Fund budget as well as public and private sector resources) resulted in over 1,300 new small and medium enterprises and over 30,000 new jobs in the area.
	Objective 2 European Funding for the rest of Yorkshire and the Humber—where total of nearly £1 billion (including £350 million of European Structural Funds alongside UK public and private sector sources) resulted in over 22,000 new jobs.
	Yorkshire and Humber Manufacturing Advisory Service (Y and H MAS)—based on a national scheme, where since 2002 advisers have worked with almost 2,500 manufacturers across the region to improve their processes and productivity, helped to secure 17,640 jobs and create 1,140 new jobs and made productivity improvements which have contributed to an overall increase in turnover of over £200 million.
	The region's Graduate Retention Programme, which has been running for six years, funded by Yorkshire Forward in partnership with the region's universities, which aims to retain graduates from the universities and colleges of Yorkshire and Humber, as well as the attracting graduate talent from outside the region. This is critically important for business' ability to compete on a national and international stage.
	Centres of Industrial Collaboration (CICs)—are funded by Yorkshire Forward. They aim to get knowledge within universities into companies in practical ways. Since their launch in 2003 they have collaborated with over 1,800 businesses and generated more than £39 million of research income for the region.
	Leeds and the wider Leeds city region have benefited, as have all parts of the region, from these programmes.
	Since 2005, a major new driver for encouraging enterprise in the neediest areas of the region is the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI). Yorkshire and Humber has five LEGI partnerships, led by the local authorities, working to ensure wider benefits of business growth spread to more deprived communities. They will be supported by £128.6 million from the Government over five years. The five LEGI schemes cover Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Doncaster and North East Lincolnshire.
	The Leeds LEGI programme, entitled 'Sharing the Success' aims to address great imbalances in the local economy. Leeds has been awarded approximately £20 million to deliver an enterprise programme targeted at tackling worklessness issues in its most deprived neighbourhoods. To date nearly 50 new businesses have started in the LEGI area, nearly 100 new jobs created and over 100 local residents found employment.

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: When running recruitment campaigns, recruitment costs, including advertising costs are generally devolved to individual management units and there are no central records held of the breakdown of advertising costs. When advertising vacancies, the departments use the most appropriate advertising media be it national, regional, local, trade magazine or website, depending on the nature of the vacancy to be filled.

Minimum Wage

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward proposals to extend the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to include the time that support workers are obliged to spend sleeping at their place of work; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: There are no current plans to change legislation in this area. We are, however, reviewing the guidance on sleepovers as part of work to reduce uncertainty about what constitutes compliance with the law.

Powers of Entry

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation sponsored by his Department and its predecessor has (i) amended and (ii) enhanced existing powers of entry since May 1997.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 7 October 2008,  Official Report, column 577W.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fuel Poverty

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effects of turbulence in financial markets on the willingness of banks to provide loans to fuel-poor householders to improve their home energy efficiency rating.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Low income and vulnerable households are able to access discounted or free energy saving and heating measures as a result of Government policies. These include the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target regulations on energy suppliers (as a result of which free cavity wall and loft insulation are available to households in receipt of certain benefits and tax credits and those over 70), and publicly funded schemes such as the Warm Front scheme in England and the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in Wales. The Government's Home Energy Saving Programme announced on 11 September set out a £1 billion package of new activity to help all households save energy and save money.
	As stated at Budget 2007, based on consultation with major banks and building societies, the Government anticipates that the measures it has put in place and improved energy advice and information have the potential to create a market for "green" financial products designed to help householders invest in energy efficiency and microgeneration installations.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in West Chelmsford constituency have  (a) applied for a grant for energy efficient measures under the Warm Front scheme and  (b) been awarded a grant for energy efficient measures under the scheme.

Joan Ruddock: Between 1 June 2005 and 30 September 2008, 1,273 households in West Chelmsford applied for a Warm Front Grant, 859 have qualified and of these 721 have received assistance. The remaining 138 households are awaiting the delivery of measures.
	Prior to 2005 the scheme was delivered by a different scheme manager and the data retained by the present administrator are not sufficient to provide a response with the level of detail requested.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent on grants under the Warm Front scheme in West Chelmsford constituency since its introduction.

Joan Ruddock: Between 1 June 2005 and 30 September 2008, the Warm Front Scheme delivered £955,714.14 of measures into the homes of some of the most vulnerable West Chelmsford residents.
	Prior to 2005, the scheme was delivered by a different administrator. The data retained by the present scheme manager is not sufficient to provide a response with the level of detail requested.

Warm Front Scheme

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to publicise the (i) Warm Front Scheme and (ii) Warm Deal Scheme; how much was spent by his Department and predecessor departments to publicise each scheme since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: As fuel poverty is now a devolved issue, this answer refers specifically to Warm Front. The Warm Deal Scheme falls within the remit of the Scottish Government.
	Warm Front advertising and promotion is not an expense drawn from the Warm Front budget. It is a contractual requirement placed on Eaga, as the main contractor, to generate sufficient interest in the scheme to fulfil the budget.
	 (a) In promoting the Scheme, Eaga undertakes several streams of activity targeted at reaching those eligible or potentially eligible for assistance. Activities include attendance at local community events, partnerships with both the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions, affinity arrangements with local voluntary and charitable groups and direct mailing activities with local authorities.
	 (b) Eaga will continue to publicise Warm Front so that it is visible and available to those in need, and will ensure that the scheme assists as many households as possible by fully utilising its budget.
	The Government's Act on CO2 helpline (0800 512012) directs people to advice from the Energy Savings Trust which can include information about Warm Front.

Warm Front Scheme

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research he has recently  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effectiveness of the (i) Warm Front Scheme and (ii) Warm Deal Scheme in reducing fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: As fuel poverty is now a devolved issue, this response refers only to Warm Front. The Warm Deal Scheme falls within the remit of the Scottish Government.
	DECC's independent quality assessors, White Young and Green, carry out bi-annual audits of the scheme as well as further ad hoc reports on various subjects requested by the Department.
	Further to this, the National Audit Office is performing a value for money audit of the scheme which they anticipate publishing in December of this year.

TRANSPORT

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department travelled by (i) car, (ii) rail and (iii) air on Government business in each year since its creation.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 17 October 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1413W.

Heavy Goods Vehicles

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce congestion on motorways and two-lane roads caused by slow-overtaking heavy goods vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: holding answer 17 October 2008
	The Highways Agency is undertaking a series of trials on the Strategic Road Network, restricting HGVs over 7.5 tonnes from using any lane other than the nearside lane for short stretches of road. Trial areas include the M42 Junction 10 to 11 and two sections of the A1 (M) Southbound from junctions 61 and 63. After a successful 18-month trial on the A14 the restriction has been made permanent, and the process of making the order permanent on the M42 is in progress.
	In addition, the Highways Agency has constructed new crawler lanes at four locations on the motorway network, one on the M27 and three on the M5 in the south-west area. These sites were identified as places where congestion has been caused by the slow movement of HGVs.

Railway Network: Electrification

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the rail network was electrified in  (a) 1978,  (b) 1988,  (c) 1998 and  (d) 2008; what plans exist to electrify further sections; and on which of these sections electrification has commenced.

Paul Clark: holding answer 17 October 2008
	The following table provides the information requested:
	
		
			   Percentage of total route kilometres open to passenger traffic that are electrified 
			 1978 26 
			 1988-89 31 
			 1998-99 34 
			 2006-07(1) 37 
			 (1) Latest year for which figures are available.  Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain 2007. 
		
	
	The Department for Transport is working closely with the rail industry to examine the case for extending the electrified network.

Railways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the net change in the number of train carriages on the rail network has been since 1 May 1997, allowing for the removal of Mk 1 trains and other time-expired vehicles, in  (a) absolute and  (b) percentage terms; and what the change in passenger numbers has been over the same period.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold the detailed information.
	In May 1995 the number of vehicles on lease was 10,401 and, as of today, the number on lease on the Rail Network is around 11,150, an increase of around 7.2 per cent. It should also be noted that a further 1,300 vehicles will be delivered as part of the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), of which 423 have already been ordered. In 1997-98 there were 846 million passenger journeys and by 2007-08 this had risen to 1,232 million.
	Although the numbers may seem disproportionate in percentage terms it should be noted that off peak traffic and non-London traffic has grown substantially faster than London peak traffic; hence, a large proportion of the extra journeys are being made on what were previously under utilised trains.

Railways

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has a comparator to assess the relative value for money of private and public operation of railway passenger services.

Paul Clark: The Government's policy is that rail passenger services are provided by the private sector through competition to operate publicly-specified franchises. There are no public operations which could provide the yardstick for a comparator.

Railways: Contracts

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which train operators have requested a time extension for payments of the premia due under their franchise agreements in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: holding answer 14 October 2008
	No operators have requested a time extension for payments of premia due in the last 12 months.

Railways: Fares

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure the implementation of fair and competitive pricing structures by train operating companies.

Paul Clark: Train operators have been encouraged to implement the simplified fares structure set out in the 2007 White Paper, reducing the number of principal fare types to three types—Anytime, Off-peak and Advance, with standard terms and conditions for each category.
	Train Operating Companies continue to set fares, where regulated, within the Policy of limiting overall increases to RPI + 1 per cent., in all but two cases. The Southeastern franchise, and the West Yorkshire part of the Northern franchise, are subject to an overall regulatory cap of RPI + 3 per cent. to reflect investment by the franchisees.
	Unregulated fares are set commercially and are a matter for each Train Operating Company.

Railways: Infrastructure

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what European Union law governs whether train and station operations should be separated from rail infrastructure maintenance and renewals.

Paul Clark: Directive 91/440/EEC requires separation of accounting between infrastructure management business and the provision of transport services, and prohibits the transfer of public funds between these functions. It allows member states to achieve this through the organisation of distinct divisions within a single entity or by requiring the infrastructure to be managed by a separate entity.

Railways: Infrastructure

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made an assessment of the value for money of  (a) integrating rail infrastructure and operations in the public sector and  (b) separating train and station operations from rail infrastructure maintenance and renewals.

Paul Clark: No such formal assessment has been made. It is generally accepted that the structures put in place at privatisation were flawed. The 2004 Rail White Paper and 2005 Railways Act set out a new streamlined structure, specified by the Government and delivered by the private sector, under which rail investment is based on affordability and value for money as determined by the independent Office of Rail Regulation.
	This structure provides coherent and effective management and delivers safe, reliable railways that work efficiently. The new arrangements provide much-needed stability for the industry as a whole.

Railways: Infrastructure

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of operating rail passenger services in the public sector after each passenger franchise expires.

Paul Clark: The Government's policy is that rail services are provided by the private sector to a specification developed in the public sector; therefore, no formal assessment has been made of the value for money of operating rail passenger services in the public sector.

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1043W, on railways: Milton Keynes, how many more southbound Virgin trains will call at Milton Keynes during  (a) peak and  (b) off-peak times once the platform upgrade is complete than did so before the work commenced.

Paul Clark: On weekdays between 0600 and 0900, the number of southbound Virgin trains calling at Milton Keynes Central will increase from four to seven trains once the upgrade is completed. In off-peak periods, the number will increase from two to three per hour.

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1043W, on railways: Milton Keynes, what the aggregate number of Virgin trains stopping per day at Milton Keynes will be once the platform upgrade is completed and a new timetable introduced; and what change this will represent from the previous aggregate number.

Paul Clark: The number of trains, operated by Virgin Trains and stopping at Milton Keynes Central station, once the enlargement work is completed, is likely to be 110 on a normal weekday. This will represent a 31 per cent. increase from today's number of 84 services operated by Virgin Trains and stopping at Milton Keynes.

Railways: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of hours of delays there will be on the railway in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2015 and  (c) 2025.

Paul Clark: The High Level Output Specification, published in July 2007, required an improvement in the Public Performance Measure (PPM) to an average of 92.6 per cent. by the end of 2013-14, with associated reductions in significant lateness and cancellations. Delay hours are reported periodically by Network Rail, but are not separately estimated by the Department for Transport.

Roads: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Lancashire county council on improving safety on  (a) the A59 and  (b) other roads in the council's area.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has not held formal meetings with Lancashire county council specifically about the A59. The A59 is a non-trunk principal road. The county council is primarily responsible for safety on the road, and other similar roads, within its administrative area.
	Departmental officials have talked with Lancashire county council officials about work supported by a road safety partnership grant not specific to the A59, about major (costing more than £5 million each) road projects and about local transport planning and delivery more generally.

Speed Limits

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many 20 mph speed limit zones have been introduced in each region in  (a) each of the last eight years and  (b) 2008;
	(2)  how many 20 mph speed limit zones have been introduced near schools in each region in  (a) each of the last eight years and  (b) 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held by the Department. Local traffic authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits and have powers to introduce 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones if they believe it appropriate to do so. They are not required to inform the Department when they change a speed limit.
	The Department has recently commissioned a new research project on local road safety policy and practice. Some of the information gathered from local authorities as part of this project includes details about the implementation of 20 mph zones. The project will take three years with an interim report due in March 2009.

Vehicle Number Plates

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to amend the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Mark) Regulations 2001 so as to permit the display of the Union Flag and the national flags of Wales, England and Scotland.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Regulations have not yet been amended and the matter is currently under review.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was raised from the modulation element of the single farm payment in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Jane Kennedy: For the financial years, 1 April to 31 March, 2006-07 and 2007-08 the modulation deducted from the single payment scheme payments are £136 million and £350 million respectively.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) lowest,  (b) highest,  (c) median and  (d) mean value was of claims under the 2007 Single Payment Scheme.

Jane Kennedy: The lowest, highest, median and mean values of the 2007 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) payments are:
	
		
			   Value (£) 
			 Lowest 0.01 
			 Highest 2,191,054.026 
			 Median 4,593.99 
			 Mean 13,920.94 
		
	
	The lowest value is a result of a non compliance penalty.
	These figures are subject to change as RPA continue to make 2007 SPS payments.

Agriculture: Temporary Employment

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many work permits were allocated under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK Border Agency has a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) that enables the provision of short term, low skilled workers to be employed in the agricultural industry. The permit to work that is issued to SAWS participants is known as a work card.
	Work cards allocated to SAWS operators by UKBA by year are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 20,557 
			 2005 16,248 
			 2006 16,244 
			 2007 16,250 
			 2008 16,250 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Animals: Disease Control

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many livestock disease reactors were identified through pre-movement testing in each year such testing has been in operation.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is as follows.
	 TB contribution
	The numbers of bovine tuberculosis (TB) reactor cattle identified in England each year since TB pre-movement testing became mandatory in March 2006, are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of TB reactors identified in England by pre-movement testing 
			   Number 
			 2008 (1 January-31 July 2008) 184 
			 2007 (1 January-31 December 2007) 372 
			 2006 (27 March-31 December 2006) 278 
			  Source: Animal Health database (10 September 2008) 
		
	
	Pre-movement testing applied to cattle over 15 months old from 27 March 2006 and was extended to cattle over 42 days old from 1 March 2007.
	Cumulative TB pre-movement statistics are updated monthly and are published on the DEFRA website. The published figures are an underestimate of the impact of the policy and show the minimum benefits. The number of reactors identified does not take into account the benefits of herd owners utilising Government paid TB surveillance tests as pre-movement tests or the number of inconclusive reactors identified by pre-movement testing which have ended up as reactors when retested.

Bees: Diseases

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the prevalence of deformed wing virus in the bee population in England; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of this virus on bee productivity.

Jane Kennedy: Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) is a virus associated with varroa, a parasitic mite infesting bees. Varroa is widespread in the UK and while it cannot be completely eradicated, beekeepers can keep productive bees despite its presence, providing they operate effective controls. Controlling the varroa mite vector by means of a careful programme of integrated pest management is the most effective way of controlling virus infections. DEFRA has published detailed advice for beekeepers on this.

Bluetongue Disease

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what strains of  (a) avian influenza and  (b) bluetongue were confirmed in the UK in each of the last three years; where such cases occurred; and how many animals were slaughtered in each case, broken down by region.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Avian Influenza 
			   Type of Avian Influenza/location  Animals culled 
			 May 2006 Low pathogenic H7N3 in chickens in Dereham, Norfolk 49,386 
			 February 2007 H5N1 (highly pathogenic) in turkeys at Bernard Matthews plant in Suffolk 156,786 
			 May/June 2007 Low pathogenic H7N2 in Wales and Merseyside 67 
			 November 2007 H5N1 (highly pathogenic) on two premises near Diss, Norfolk 90,650 
			 January/February 2008 H5N1 (highly pathogenic) confirmed in 11 wild birds in the Chesil Beach area in Dorset (1)0 
			 June 2008 H7N7 (highly pathogenic) avian influenza confirmed on a premises near Banbury in Oxfordshire 24,895 
			 (1) Cases were in wild not domestic birds. 
		
	
	 (b) Bluetongue
	Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) is the only strain of Bluetongue virus to have been detected in the UK to date. The first case was detected on 22 September 2007.
	As at 16 October 2008, a total of 147 cases of BTV-8 had been detected. These are shown in the following table, by UK region, for the last three years:
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 England — 66 (1)80 
			 Northern Ireland — — — 
			 Scotland — — — 
			 Wales — — (2)1 
			 (1) No circulating Bluetongue disease has been found in the UK in 2008. The 80 cases confirmed this year in England comprise 73 that involve animals infected in 2007 but confirmed as infected in 2008, and seven that were detected through post-import tests on livestock imported from abroad.  (2) This case was detected as a result of post-import testing. 
		
	
	A total of six infected animals were culled in England in 2007 prior to 28 September 2007.
	On 28 September 2007, it was confirmed that BTV-8 was circulating in the local midge population in the affected area of East Anglia. Since Bluetongue is spread by midges, the culling of animals infected by Bluetongue would no longer have been an effective measure to control disease spread, and in line with the Bluetongue Control Strategy, the decision was taken not to slaughter further infected animals.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has given to the use of contra bait or other measures to control breeding in the management of badger populations infected with tuberculosis.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA is funding proof-of-concept research into fertility control for managing animal populations. As part of this research, we are evaluating this approach specifically for the management of urban badger populations. The research is focused on population control, not disease control. Lowering population numbers in itself does not necessarily mean that disease transmission risks are lowered.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects a bovine tuberculosis vaccine to be available for  (a) badgers and  (b) cattle.

Jane Kennedy: Badger vaccines are likely to be available sooner than cattle vaccines. The earliest projected date for the widespread use of Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) oral badger vaccine is 2014. Injectable BCG badger vaccines may be available by 2010.
	The earliest projected date for the widespread use of a BCG cattle vaccine with a differential diagnostic test (DIVA) is mid to late-2015.

Climate Change: Diseases

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the increase in mean surface temperatures on the potential for  (a) malaria,  (b) equine fever,  (c) dengue fever,  (d) lyme disease,  (e) African Horse Sickness,  (f) Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus,  (g) Rift Valley fever and  (h) other vector borne diseases to spread to the UK; and what steps he has taken towards securing vaccines for these diseases.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA has an ongoing programme of international disease surveillance that monitors disease outbreaks. Risk assessments for African Horse Sickness and Rift Valley Fever have been published on the DEFRA Website. Equine fever could refer to a number of diseases of the horse, so we are unable to say whether we have performed a risk assessment for it.
	DEFRA has not conducted specific assessments of the potential increase of the risk of these diseases as a result of an increase in mean surface temperatures. Surface temperatures are only one factor affecting the potential spread of disease and/or vectors. A number of natural and human-related factors, such as trade, animal movements and livestock husbandry practices may have a more significant role in disease spread in the short-term. Some research is under way to investigate potential implications of climate change for animal diseases.
	No steps have been taken to secure vaccines against these diseases. Vaccines are often specific for particular types and strains, and decisions on vaccine procurement would need to be taken on the basis of risk assessments and our agreed control strategy for each disease.
	Malaria, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Dengue fever and Lyme disease are human health issues and therefore queries should be addressed to the Department of Health.

Dairy Farming

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of dairy farmers in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: The number of holdings and associated farmers (full and part-time) in England where dairy is the predominant activity are shown as follows. Farmers includes partners, directors and spouses (if working on the holding).
	
		
			   Dairy type holdings  Farmers, partners, directors  and spouses 
			 2007 10,649 21,082 
			
			 2006 12,628 25,706 
			 2005 12,918 26,168 
			 2004 13,264 28,057 
			 2003 13,770 28,918 
			 2002 14,537 30,425 
			 2001 14,293 30,178 
			 2000 15,219 31,418 
			 1999 16,313 33,216 
			 1998 17,014 34,405 
			  Notes: 1. The 2007 dairy farm type was calculated using data taken from the cattle tracing system and is therefore not directly comparable to previous year's results. Prior to 2007, the farm type was based on June survey data. As the annual June survey is based on a sample, estimates have been made for holdings not surveyed. 2. Figures prior to 2001 are not directly comparable with later results as they cover main (commercial) holdings only and also because of a register improvement exercise in 2001 which impacted on the labour figures.  Source: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of the Local Government Ombudsman ruling 06/C/10554, in relation to the waste policies of local authorities which seek to restrict the number of household bins which are collected.

Jane Kennedy: The Ombudsman found against this particular local authority on the basis that it had made insufficient effort to assess whether requiring the householder to have only one bin for the size of the household, was reasonable.
	The ruling does not change the fact that local authorities can, under section 46 of the Environment Protection Act 1990, restrict the number of waste receptacles per household. However, section 46 requires the arrangements for receptacles to be reasonable and it is the authority's failure to comply with that requirement that led to the Ombudsman's investigation and subsequent ruling.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the consultation on restructuring of inland drainage boards.

Jane Kennedy: The Inland Drainage Board Sub Catchment review set a direction of travel following an independent report produced in 2006. The independent report outlined the strengths and weaknesses of the current performance of internal drainage boards and made recommendations for future improvements.
	There has not been formal consultation on this, but representations have nevertheless been received from interested organisations and internal drainage boards, making points on the detail of the report as well as seeking guidance on the review itself.

Flood Control

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government will  (a) respond to and  (b) set out its five proposals for action in respect of the consultation on options for allocation of responsibility for the ownership and long-term maintenance of drainage systems; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Government will not be providing a separate response for the consultation and has indicated in the Summary of Responses to the consultation that the next steps will be announced in the response to the Pitt Review "Lessons learned from the 2007 floods".
	The response to the Pitt Review is due in November.

Floods: Coastal Areas

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often the Environment Agency updates its maps of river and coastal flood risks.

Jane Kennedy: The Environment Agency is continually updating its Flood Map, which shows areas that could be affected by flooding from rivers or the sea. Flood Maps, published on the Environment Agency's website, are sent to local authorities for planning and Civil Contingencies Act purposes. These show areas at risk of flooding and are updated and published on a quarterly basis.

Floods: Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of homes at risk of  (a) coastal flooding and  (b) inland flooding, broken down by region.

Jane Kennedy: The latest national flood risk assessment (NaFRA) was carried out during 2006. The NaFRA data were published in March 2007.
	A brief summary of appendix L of the NaFRA 2006 report follows and indicates the number or properties (both homes and businesses) at risk from tidal and fluvial flooding.
	
		
			  Environment Agency water management region  Number of properties at risk from tidal flooding  Number of properties at risk from fluvial flooding  Number of properties at risk from both tidal and fluvial 
			 Anglian 183,652 119,034 14,936 
			 Midlands 25,358 196,002 1,092 
			 North-east 138,385 146,704 10,824 
			 North-west 65,614 47,742 3,220 
			 South-west 72,999 89,612 6,394 
			 Southern 124,769 133,797 11,095 
			 Thames 418,295 281,327 36,611

Incineration: Waste Management

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage alternatives to incineration for the management of non-recyclable waste.

Jane Kennedy: It is local authorities, not DEFRA, who are responsible for deciding how waste is managed as part of their local waste management strategies. Any plans for facilities that converted waste to energy should emerge out of local waste strategies, so that all options for reuse, recycling and composting can be explored before landfill.
	Recovering energy from waste offers a considerable climate change benefit compared to the alternative landfill. This is primarily through avoided landfill methane emissions, with the energy recovered from the biodegradable part of that waste not only displacing conventional power generation based on oil, coal or natural gas, but also counting towards our renewable energy targets.

Milk: Imports

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much milk was imported in each of the last 10 years; and from which countries such milk was sourced.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 16 October 2008
	The following table shows the volume of liquid milk imported into the UK from 1997 to 2007, by country of dispatch, as recorded in the Official Trade Statistics.
	
		
			  UK imports of liquid milk, 1997 to 2007, by country of dispatch 
			  Million litres 
			  Country  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Irish Republic 81 88 60 60 55 26 19 24 8 19 19 
			 Germany 24 27 17 20 11 6 4 8 15 20 18 
			 France 20 20 13 9 10 10 9 10 11 15 14 
			 Denmark 11 40 30 25 9 1 0 1 1 0 0 
			 Belgium-Luxembourg 14 11 7 7 4 2 4 11 9 24 24 
			 Netherlands 1 0 4 0 1 2 1 0 3 7 13 
			 Austria 0 — 3 1 — — — — — 0 0 
			 Other countries 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 All countries 150 188 134 122 90 48 37 55 47 84 88 
			  Source: HM Revenue and Customs. Data prepared by Trade Statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis Division, DEFRA.

Milk: Imports

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much milk was produced in England in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 16 October 2008
	The volume of milk produced in England is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Production of milk in England 
			   Million litres 
			 1998 9,843 
			 1999 10,645 
			 2000 9,951 
			 2001 9,518 
			 2002 9,590 
			 2003 9,622 
			 2004 9,291 
			 2005 9,128 
			 2006 9,071 
			 2007 8,791 
			  Source: DEFRA.

Oil: Waste Management

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK's obligations are on encouraging the recovery and re-use of waste under the waste framework directive; what assessment he has made of the degree to which the duty regime applicable to waste derived fuel oil from 1 November 2008 contributes towards this objective; and what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this subject.

Jane Kennedy: The waste oil directive requires member states to ensure the collection and correct management of waste oil and to take measures to give priority to the regeneration of waste oil above combustion. As a specific measure applying to waste oil, the waste oil directive takes precedence over the waste framework directive.
	It is the view of the Government that the duty regime applicable to waste derived fuel oil from 1 November 2008 should have no adverse effects on the volume of waste oil collected, as correct management of hazardous waste is a legal requirement. Waste oil has a value and there will continue to be a demand for waste-derived fuel. A higher duty rate for waste-derived fuel could also encourage the provision of regeneration of waste oil in preference to combustion.
	I have not held discussions on this issue with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but officials in my Department are in regular contact with officials in HM Revenue and Customs on this issue.

Pitt Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish a plan and timetable for implementing the findings of Sir Michael Pitt's review of flooding.

Jane Kennedy: The Government will be publishing a full response to Sir Michael Pitt's recommendations shortly.

Pitt Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 49-50WS, on flood and coastal erosion risk management (budget allocations and outcomes targets), what plans he has to make funding allocations beyond those indicated in the statement to enable the implementation of Sir Michael Pitt's recommendations on flooding.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 301. Sir Michael Pitt's review included a recommendation that
	"The Government should commit to a strategic long-term approach to its investment in flood risk management, planning up to 25 years ahead".
	The Government will be publishing their response to all of Sir Michael Pitt's recommendations shortly.

Rural Payments Agency: Personal Records

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many instances of the loss of personal documents have been recorded by the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: During the last five years the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has had one formally recorded incident of the loss of personal information which was subsequently recovered shortly after being reported missing. Informal reporting of lost and recovered personal information has occurred during the five year period and RPA's system for recording such occurrences has been strengthened with further improvements in train.

Sewers

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish a further consultation on the transfer of private sewers and lateral drains connected to the public network to water and sewage companies; what the future timetable of this work is; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1942W, by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth (Mr. Woolas).

Sewers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish the Government's response to his Department's consultation on the transfer of private sewers to sewerage undertakers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 17 October 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth (Mr. Woolas) on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1942W.

Supermarkets: Waste Disposal

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much waste was produced by supermarkets in each of the last three years; and how much of this was  (a) recyclable and  (b) recycled.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not hold statistics relating to the waste produced specifically by supermarkets. However, in July 2008, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and DEFRA published the results of a survey of food and packaging waste arising across FDF member companies during 2006. The results show that of the 835,000 tonnes of food and packaging waste produced at 236 FDF member production sites in 2006, 686,000 tonnes were recycled or recovered in some way. Overall, only 138,000 tonnes were sent to landfill.

Sustainable Development

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made  (a) in the UK and  (b) internationally in implementing the recommendations arising from the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development regarding sustainable consumption.

Jane Kennedy: At the international level responsibility principally lies with the 'Marrakech Process' and the seven international task forces which it has so far fostered. Among the themes covered by the task forces are sustainable lifestyles, education for sustainable development and sustainable tourism. The task forces focus on practical activities that help with the shift to more sustainable patterns of consumption at regional and local levels. A first draft of a 10-year framework programme has recently been produced and can be found on the Marrakech Process website.
	Within England, DEFRA is implementing a programme on sustainable consumption and production. The main actions and objectives are described in DEFRA's progress report on sustainable products and materials (published in July 2008 and available on the DEFRA website). As far as sustainable consumption is concerned, we have published a framework for pro-environmental behaviours which sets out a social marketing style approach to helping people move to more sustainable living. This includes core principles and approaches, headline behaviour goals, consumer insight, a segmentation model and an assessment of the implications for policy. The framework has been used, for example, to inform the development of the Government's Act on CO2 campaign.

Warm Front Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many people in North Yorkshire received Warm Front grants in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many people in Yorkshire and the Humber received Warm Front grants in each of the last five years.

Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
	The following below shows the number of households assisted under Warm Front 2 since it started in June 2005 in the Yorkshire and Humber and North Yorkshire areas.
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1) 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 14,210 36,033 39,488 12,179 
			  
			  North Yorkshire 
			 Craven 149 308 273 167 
			 Hambleton 160 359 391 193 
			 Harrogate 302 591 566 189 
			 Richmondshire 83 263 230 77 
			 Ryedale 101 308 252 66 
			 Scarborough 272 747 1343 380 
			 Selby 127 410 384 172 
			 York 382 982 1042 273 
			  1,576 3,968 4,481 1,517 
			 (1) To 16 September 2008

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated yearly effect on the  (a) tax bill and ( b) other expenditure of a family in the lowest income quintile is under his Department's impact assessment of new charges for the collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: No such quantitative assessment has been made by DEFRA.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on whether care homes should be subject to the new charges for the collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: This is a matter for the relevant local authority to decide.

Waste Management: Public Participation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the responses to the consultation on joint waste authorities' regulations and guidance.

Jane Kennedy: Responses to the consultation are publicly available in DEFRA's library.

Waterwise: Finance

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department requires the water industry to provide funding to Waterwise; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not require the water industry to provide funding to Waterwise.

JUSTICE

Church of England: Public Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time has been to fill clergy vacancies in Lord Chancellor-appointed livings in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: This information is not held in this form and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Church of England: Public Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many vacancies there are for clergy in the livings to which the Lord Chancellor makes the appointment.

Michael Wills: On 15 October, there were 13 vacancies in livings to which the Lord Chancellor makes the appointment. This includes those livings where the patronage is shared and it is the Lord Chancellor's turn to make the presentation.

Church of England: Public Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether there are plans to review the procedures for clergy appointments by his Department.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice has no plans to review the procedures for clergy appointments.

Church of England: Public Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female clergy have been appointed by his Department in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: The figures requested are as follows:
	
		
			   Female  Male 
			 2004 1 11 
			 2005 1 5 
			 2006 3 5 
			 2007 1 8 
			 2008 (to date) 1 3 
		
	
	In the same period, the Lord Chancellor has also appointed one female Canon Residentiary in 2006, and four male Canon Residentiaries, one in each of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Community Orders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many community orders were issued in each month since April 2005; and how many times each of the 12 requirements was used.

David Hanson: Table 1 shows the number of community orders supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales which commenced between April 2005 and March 2008. Table 2 shows the monthly commencement figures in England and Wales for each of the 12 requirements associated with the community order.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of community orders commencing in England and Wales, by month, April 2005 to March 2008 
			   Number 
			 April 2005 931 
			 May 2005 3,244 
			 June 2005 5,348 
			 July 2005 6,072 
			 August 2005 6,954 
			 September 2005 7,824 
			 October 2005 8,602 
			 November 2005 9,812 
			 December 2005 7,790 
			 January 2006 10,108 
			 February 2006 10,212 
			 March 2006 11,184 
			 April 2006 9,140 
			 May 2006 10,654 
			 June 2006 11,033 
			 July 2006 10,133 
			 August 2006 10,483 
			 September 2006 10,494 
			 October 2006 11,005 
			 November 2006 10,961 
			 December 2006 8,238 
			 January 2007 11,067 
			 February 2007 10,782 
			 March 2007 11,582 
			 April 2007 9,951 
			 May 2007 11,337 
			 June 2007 11,444 
			 July 2007 11,705 
			 August 2007 11,374 
			 September 2007 10,268 
			 October 2007 12,308 
			 November 2007 11,756 
			 December 2007 8,228 
			 January 2008 11,933 
			 February 2008 11,287 
			 March 2008 10,136 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of requirements given with a community order which commenced in England and Wales, by month and type of requirement. April 2005 to March 2008 
			  Community Order  Supervision  Unpaid work  Accredited programme  Drug treatment  Curfew  Specified activity 
			 April 2005 438 566 217 60 38 20 
			 May 2005 1,866 1,793 978 276 138 139 
			 June 2005 3,227 2,859 1,674 533 253 252 
			 July 2005 3,678 3,260 1,911 598 302 294 
			 August 2005 4,267 3,681 2,134 692 389 348 
			 September 2005 4,843 4,202 2,440 734 461 348 
			 October 2005 5,405 4,390 2,685 960 517 405 
			 November 2005 6,149 5,151 3,027 1,112 582 468 
			 December 2005 4,864 4,045 2,371 887 528 364 
			 January 2006 6,229 5,378 2,991 990 691 545 
			 February 2006 6,362 5,463 3,176 1,004 753 605 
			 March 2006 7,014 5,972 3,347 1,112 824 605 
			 April 2006 5,641 4,864 2,515 914 715 500 
			 May 2006 6,500 5,836 2,926 1,036 751 644 
			 June 2006 6,841 5,990 3,122 1,061 822 661 
			 July 2006 6,295 5,407 2,828 962 785 652 
			 August 2006 6,398 5,732 2,780 1,010 853 646 
			 September 2006 6,371 5,763 2,707 949 805 707 
			 October 2006 6,757 5,966 2,873 1,022 919 751 
			 November 2006 6,709 6,047 2,924 1,028 971 768 
			 December 2006 5,101 4,504 2,092 805 723 621 
			 January 2007 6,587 6,244 2,749 1,015 996 773 
			 February 2007 6,487 5,975 2,716 982 997 797 
			 March 2007 6,862 6,738 2,750 1,099 1,016 856 
			 April 2007 5,911 5,711 2,212 960 882 646 
			 May 2007 6,734 6,583 2,536 1,017 1,035 765 
			 June 2007 6,817 6,573 2,679 1,059 1,034 681 
			 July 2007 6,964 6,649 2,665 1,056 1,135 755 
			 August 2007 6,829 6,345 2,619 1,078 1,061 782 
			 September 2007 6,067 5,799 2,241 900 996 660 
			 October 2007 7,164 7,074 2,658 1,093 1,249 730 
			 November 2007 6,862 6,612 2,542 1,077 1,341 782 
			 December 2007 4,817 4,477 1,775 810 875 539 
			 January 2008 6,679 6,747 2,516 1,045 1,309 774 
			 February 2008 6,453 6,212 2,317 1,076 1,270 774 
			 March 2008 5,828 5,586 2,040 987 1,168 674 
			 Total 208,016 190,194 88,733 32,999 29,184 21,331 
		
	
	
		
			  Community order  Alcohol treatment  Residential  Mental health  Exclusion  Prohibited activity  Attendance centre 
			 April 2005 19 1 0 2 3 0 
			 May 2005 90 4 6 15 3 4 
			 June 2005 155 17 17 23 5 12 
			 July 2005 177 29 25 21 10 9 
			 August 2005 184 36 34 17 15 12 
			 September 2005 181 46 34 38 25 15 
			 October 2005 184 43 43 29 19 13 
			 November 2005 194 47 54 28 28 18 
			 December 2005 172 45 49 22 22 11 
			 January 2006 189 51 53 25 31 17 
			 February 2006 200 64 60 44 22 17 
			 March 2006 208 64 64 37 40 25 
			 April 2006 185 45 58 34 27 17 
			 May 2006 216 60 43 48 35 29 
			 June 2006 222 62 65 41 48 39 
			 July 2006 212 58 61 41 49 29 
			 August 2006 229 69 76 42 43 28 
			 September 2006 204 76 76 43 47 18 
			 October 2006 227 60 70 44 50 29 
			 November 2006 202 74 69 54 39 20 
			 December 2006 144 78 55 57 52 19 
			 January 2007 200 78 62 61 51 33 
			 February 2007 200 80 44 82 67 34 
			 March 2007 258 66 57 68 67 33 
			 April 2007 215 75 61 55 56 31 
			 May 2007 268 81 54 58 83 31 
			 June 2007 270 95 68 60 63 38 
			 July 2007 310 95 53 86 75 47 
			 August 2007 324 70 58 88 70 40 
			 September 2007 262 75 39 56 61 49 
			 October 2007 339 86 55 83 95 37 
			 November 2007 347 70 59 79 85 38 
			 December 2007 274 61 42 69 74 20 
			 January 2008 331 81 56 80 84 38 
			 February 2008 330 61 68 108 88 45 
			 March 2008 299 75 53 69 78 42 
			 Total 8,021 2,178 1,841 1,807 1,710 937

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department and its predecessors and their agencies were  (a) dismissed and  (b) disciplined for their conduct in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Wills: Information in a validated and comparable form is available only for dismissals for the last two years. Figures for these years for dismissals are as follows:
	
		
			   Dismissals 
			 2006-07 112 
			 2007-08 101 
		
	
	To obtain the other information in the format requested would incur disproportionate costs as all personal files of current and ex-employees would have to be checked to collate this information for the past 10 years.

Departmental Overtime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of overtime payments paid to staff in his Department was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade.

Michael Wills: The 24 hour, seven days a week operational nature of the Ministry's work in various sectors of the justice service necessitates a large number of our staff to regularly provide out of hours work. This flexible additional work is required in order to better protect the public and meet the needs of a modern service.
	In line with good practice guidelines overtime is paid only with prior management authority to carry out specific work, which cannot be done within normal working hours. The majority of overtime paid in the Ministry of Justice relates to work done in Her Majesty's Prison Service. Within Her Majesty's Court Service examples of such work include provision of out of hours legal advice to judges on issues such as Emergency Protection Orders or Extradition matters, or the provision of Saturday court sittings. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for overtime payments made to probation staff in the National Offender Management Service.
	The following table shows the overtime payments to staff within the Ministry of Justice broken down by month from July 2007 to August 2008.
	
		
			  Total overtime costs 
			  Area of Ministry of Justice  £ 
			  July 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices (1)— 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 31,876.28 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 906,672.93 
			 Total overtime costs 938,549.21 
			   
			  August 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices (1)— 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 16,104.67 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 1,324,897.48 
			 Total overtime costs 1,341,002.15 
			   
			  September 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 413,339.04 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 19,722.17 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 949,660.93 
			 Total overtime costs 1,382,722.14 
			   
			  October 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 531,030.82 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 28,146.40 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 826,973.12 
			 Total overtime costs 1,386,150.34 
			  November 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 700,991.79 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 17,890.91 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 1,226,404.48 
			 Total overtime costs 1,945,287.18 
			   
			  December 2007  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 650,574.97 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 25,758.91 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 702,118.36 
			 Total overtime costs 1,378,452.24 
			   
			  January 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 643,558.45 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 19,050.76 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 962,208.19 
			 Total overtime costs 1,624,817.40 
			   
			  February 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 834,554.36 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 27,367.16 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 891,539.35 
			 Total overtime costs 1,753,460.87 
			   
			  March 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 782,040.82 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 26,682.83 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 912,752.52 
			 Total overtime costs 1,721,476.17 
			   
			  April 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 1,025,311.68 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 47,924.58 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 969,909.44 
			 Total overtime costs 2,043,145.70 
			   
			  May 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 707,760.34 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 26,259.54 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 971,016.57 
			 Total overtime costs 1,705,036.45 
			   
			  June 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 694,089.43 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform 26,186.03 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service 959,315.12 
			 Total overtime costs 1,679,590.58 
			  July 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 765,693.44 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform n/a 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service n/a 
			 Total overtime costs 765,693.44 
			   
			  August 2008  
			 Former Department for Constitutional Affairs agencies and associated offices 649,501.42 
			 National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform n/a 
			 Her Majesty's Prisons Service n/a 
			 Total Overtime Costs 649,501.42 
			 (1) The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what total cost.

Michael Wills: Bonus payments in the Ministry of Justice may be either 'Year-end' bonuses, paid to high performing staff to reflect their individual contribution during the previous performance year or 'In year' bonuses may be paid to staff to recognise exceptional contribution during the performance year. During the financial year 2007-08 2,535 end of year bonuses and 5,327 in year bonuses were paid.
	The cost of bonus payments made during the financial year 2007-08 was £4,559,454. This includes Employer's National Insurance contributions at 9 per cent. Bonus payments are non pensionable and therefore are not subject to Employer's Pension Contributions.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many citizens' juries his Department has held since 1 July 2007; what the cost was of each; what issues were discussed at each event; and how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) members of the public attended each event.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has not held any citizens' juries since 1 July 2007.

Driving Offences

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been prosecuted for driving without insurance in  (a) Wales and  (b) each region of England in (i) each of the last 10 years and (ii) 2008.

Maria Eagle: Available information on magistrates courts proceedings for the offence of 'use of a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks' from 1997 to end 2006 (latest available) is contained in the following table. Data for 2007 will be available later this year; while 2008 data will be available later in 2009.
	From 1 June 2003, the offence of 'use of a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence. The table does not include fixed penalty notices issued and paid where there is no further action for the offence but may include cases where fixed penalty notices were issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for 'using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks'( 1) , by GOR, 1997 to 2006 
			  Number of offences 
			  Government office region  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006 
			 Wales 26,864 27,969 26,976 26,064 24,892 28,371 30,077 27,686 22,696 22,363 
			 North East 20,387 20,302 23,526 23,458 22,687 24,143 24,328 23,582 20,793 17,645 
			 North West 70,946 68,125 69,331 71,427 71,405 73,557 82,086 73,991 66,415 56,686 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 43,542 43,125 46,436 48,148 50,516 46,536 49,994 53,055 46,618 40,303 
			 East Midlands 32,937 33,193 35,047 31,778 29,871 29,226 36,361 38,808 30,618 25,359 
			 West Midlands 49,456 51,114 46,403 48,746 45,028 50,955 55,114 58,544 52,623 46,880 
			 East 27,095 27,875 26,278 27,553 29,550 32,351 35,177 33,051 31,666 30,464 
			 London 44,954 38,191 33,806 31,387 33,858 38,838 45,663 50,618 48,722 47,707 
			 South East 44,865 42,573 43,098 44,145 43,584 45,780 45,388 41,641 36,732 34,259 
			 South West 36,087 37,607 36,518 38,953 36,907 40,641 43,079 40,843 35,880 31,815 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.143(2). (2) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Driving Offences

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers under the age of 25 years were prosecuted for driving using a mobile phone in each region of England and Wales in  (a) each of the last five years and  (b) 2008 to date.

Maria Eagle: Available information on prosecutions in the period 1 December 2003 to end 2006 (latest available) taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by my Department, are provided in the following table. 2007 data should be available later this year; 2008 data will be available late in 2009.
	The vast majority of "use of hand held mobile phone while driving" offences are dealt with by the offer of a fixed penalty. The table does not include fixed penalty notices but does include cases where fixed penalty notices were issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts( 1,2)  for the offence of 'use of hand held mobile phone while driving'( 2) , by drivers under age 25, and by Government office regions, England and Wales, 2004, 2005, 2006 
			  Number of offences 
			  Government office region  2004  2005  2006 
			 North East 7 5 25 
			 North West 28 51 72 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 10 30 37 
			 East Midlands 7 24 19 
			 West Midlands 11 15 20 
			 East 16 19 45 
			 London 52 115 103 
			 South East 13 35 35 
			 South West 11 16 23 
			 Wales 4 13 14 
			 (1) Includes cases where a fixed penalty notice was originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (2) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003. In December 2003, there was one prosecution in the Bedfordshire police force area. The offender was aged over 25.  Note: It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Driving Offences: Fines

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines have been issued for drivers exceeding the speed limit in a 20 mph zone in the last eight years; and what the average such fine was in  (a) Wales and  (b) each region of England in (i) each of the last eight years and (ii) 2008.

Maria Eagle: While the data held by my Department include information on fines for speed limit offences, that information does not specify the particular limit breached nor the part of the country in which the offence occurred.

Driving Offences: Fines

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average fine was levied for driving an unsafe car which did not comply with MOT requirements in  (a) Wales and  (b) each region of England in (i) each of the last 10 years and (ii) 2008.

Maria Eagle: Driving an unsafe car which does not comply with M.O.T. requirements can result in the commission of a number of different offences.
	Available information on average fines for different offences and offence groups is contained in my Department's Statistical Bulletin "Motoring Offences and Breath Test Statistics, England and Wales 2006" and its associated "Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales 2006, Supplementary tables". The documents are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/motoringoffences.htm
	This information is not however broken down by area.

Firearms: Sentencing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted for possession of an illegal firearm in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Jack Straw: The number of persons found guilty at all courts for firearm possession offences in England and Wales, by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty at all courts for offences relating to possessing firearm, ammunition, or shotgun without a certificate or possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition in England and Wales, by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   Found guilty 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 54 52 19 21 31 24 25 24 26 25 
			 Bedfordshire 15 9 5 4 6 10 10 10 7 4 
			 Cambridgeshire 16 23 17 12 2 8 14 8 6 15 
			 Cheshire 18 8 11 9 7 8 8 23 13 18 
			 City of London 1 4 1 1 2 4 2 5 1 1 
			 Cleveland 15 15 9 10 7 8 15 12 13 9 
			 Cumbria 7 13 4 12 8 3 4 10 10 5 
			 Derbyshire 24 15 30 23 13 19 12 23 21 21 
			 Devon and Cornwall 38 29 25 14 18 18 24 22 20 28 
			 Dorset 8 8 9 8 8 11 13 9 11 8 
			 Durham 8 12 10 16 9 8 14 18 28 17 
			 Essex 46 51 29 32 19 32 23 36 28 34 
			 Gloucestershire 19 16 7 11 14 10 11 11 8 7 
			 Greater Manchester 85 122 76 76 69 61 72 126 122 107 
			 Hampshire 47 35 27 22 15 32 29 22 42 28 
			 Hertfordshire 18 14 11 17 11 10 9 22 24 26 
			 Humberside 13 14 12 8 16 16 14 23 25 19 
			 Kent 28 42 27 32 32 26 29 23 21 29 
			 Lancashire 35 39 16 26 24 17 20 30 32 22 
			 Leicestershire 30 35 23 37 32 18 26 20 28 21 
			 Lincolnshire 14 21 13 21 17 14 7 9 10 8 
			 Merseyside 37 43 26 19 24 26 34 62 75 67 
			 Metropolitan Police 323 328 254 202 261 295 350 317 337 380 
			 Norfolk 20 20 20 11 12 14 6 18 13 17 
			 North Yorkshire 34 47 15 19 13 4 11 4 11 11 
			 Northamptonshire 10 7 17 9 4 7 4 6 9 3 
			 Northumbria 64 59 66 43 49 31 52 47 47 42 
			 Nottinghamshire 22 35 19 23 20 19 39 27 29 39 
			 South Yorkshire 34 39 42 30 16 33 27 35 40 48 
			 Staffordshire 23 25 8 3 15 33 16 18 20 14 
			 Suffolk 10 6 11 10 7 6 14 12 10 12 
			 Surrey 7 7 4 9 13 13 11 11 4 8 
			 Sussex 22 16 17 9 14 13 16 21 22 17 
			 Thames Valley 52 46 37 19 18 27 31 28 25 24 
			 Warwickshire 15 9 9 6 11 9 6 9 7 8 
			 West Mercia 23 17 22 8 15 15 11 15 13 14 
			 West Midlands 105 110 100 82 85 97 84 91 79 88 
			 West Yorkshire 64 90 69 47 38 45 40 63 66 56 
			 Wiltshire 3 10 7 13 9 6 5 8 14 13 
			 Dyfed-Powys 23 20 11 13 11 10 17 10 7 1 
			 Gwent 5 7 8 12 7 8 6 9 6 11 
			 North Wales 22 16 13 11 3 7 7 10 7 11 
			 South Wales 30 19 27 21 28 15 26 26 29 25 
			 Total 1,487 1,553 1,183 1,031 1,033 1,090 1,194 1,333 1,366 1,361 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and magistrates courts data only have been excluded from the table. (4) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Firearms Act 1968 (Group I) Sec l(l), as amended by Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec.157, Sch.8 part III. Possessing etc. firearm or ammunition without firearm certificate. Firearms Act 1968 Sec 2(1) (Group II) as amended by Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Sec.157 Sch.8 part III. Possessing etc. shot gun without certificate. Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 5(1) (Group I) as amended by Criminal Justice Act 2003 S.288. Possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition. Firearms Act 1968 Sec 5(1)(b) (Group I) as amended by Criminal Justice Act 2003 Sec.288. Possessing or distributing prohibited weapons designed for discharge of noxious liquid etc. Firearms Act 1968 Sec 5(1A)(a) (Group I) as amended by Criminal Justice Act 2003 Sec.288. Possessing or distributing firearm disguised as other object. Firearms Act 1968 Sec 5(1A) (b),(c),(d)(e),(f) or (g) as amended by Criminal Justice Act 2003 Sec.288. Possessing or distributing other prohibited weapons.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Judiciary: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the value was of public sector pensions for the judiciary in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year.

Jack Straw: Figures for the Judicial Pension Scheme have been published in the Scheme's Resource Accounts for 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, and are set out in the following table.
	The Judicial Pension Scheme's Resource Accounts for 2007-08 will be published in due course.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Gross pensions expenditure  Contributions receivable (from members)  ASLC( 1)  contributions receivable from employers 
			 2003-04 48,829 5,591 60,756 
			 2004-05 52,272 5,789 63,887 
			 2005-06 55,572 5,980 66,518 
			 2006-07 58,687 3,679 71,796 
			 (1) Accruing Superannuation Liability Charges.  Note:  Member's basic contribution rates vary between 1.8 per cent. and 2.4 per cent. (equivalent to 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. gross). The ASLC rate was 29.25 per cent. between 2003-04 and 2005-06 and 30.75 per cent. for 2006-07.

Magistrates Courts: Closures

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates courts have closed in  (a) rural areas and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1995.

Bridget Prentice: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the magistrates courthouse closures, which occurred prior to 1995. The following table provides details of the magistrates court closures (broken down into  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas) which have taken place since 1995.
	
		
			  Number of magistrates courts closed in each year since 1995( 1) 
			   Rural 75  Rural 50  Significant rural  Other urban  Large urban  Major urban  Total number of courts closed 
			 1995 3 1 1 0 2 0 7 
			 1996 8 6 2 2 0 3 21 
			 1997 2 4 3 3 1 8 21 
			 1998 12 4 1 3 2 3 25 
			 1999 1 0 1 2 l 2 7 
			 2000 8 1 0 2 0 2 13 
			 2001 12 7 3 3 3 2 30 
			 2002 5 0 2 0 0 0 7 
			 2003 9 2 1 1 0 0 13 
			 2004 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			 2005 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2006 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 2007 1 2 0 0 0 1 4 
			 2008 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2006) has been used to define whether court closures took place in rural/urban areas. The classification divides constituencies into the following six categories: Rural 75: Over 75 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns); Rural 50: Over 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns); Significant rural: More than 37,000 or between 26 per cent. and 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements; Other urban: Fewer than 37,000 or less than 26 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements; Large urban: A minimum of 50,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a large urban area; and Major urban: A minimum of 100,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a major urban area (i.e. over 750,000 of the population).

Parental Responsibility

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the implications of the Coleman judgement on the status of parents with a disabled child.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	In its judgment in Coleman  v. Attridge Law, the European Court of Justice decided that the European Framework Employment Directive, which concerns equal treatment in employment and occupation, provides protection from direct discrimination or harassment that arises from a person's association with a disabled person. This means that parents of a disabled child, like other associates of a disabled person, are protected by the directive from direct discrimination or harassment on the grounds of their child's disability. The Government are giving careful consideration to this judgment and its implications for domestic anti-discrimination legislation.

Prisons: Crime

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many crimes have been committed in prisons in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) offence and  (b) prison establishment; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: This would require the checking of the records of over 140 prisons and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Fires

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fires there were in prisons in each of the last five years; and what the cost of repairing the damage caused by each of them was.

David Hanson: The data requested are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Total number of fires for the last five financial years 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 1,101 
			 2004-05 1,040 
			 2005-06 1,087 
			 2006-07 1,094 
			 2007-08 1,064 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.
	The cost of cell fires (as this is where most fires take place) are not reported centrally therefore this information is not readily available.
	Where there is damage to the cell but no injury to persons and damage is considered to be low level, the matter is generally not pursued by the police; however, this may be subject to local adjudication procedures. If the charge is proven as a result of the adjudication there may be loss of privileges, earnings or segregation of the prisoner in question.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the expertise and qualifications of the lay members of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel will be.

Bridget Prentice: Appeals and claims will continue to be heard by a specialist panel consisting of a lawyer and two non-legal (specialist) members. The qualification for members of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel is experience of educational, child care, health, or social care matters.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who will chair the case management hearings for the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel.

Bridget Prentice: The chairs of case management hearings will be specifically trained for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel's (SENDISP) work. No person will chair a Special Educational Needs and Disability case management hearing unless that person has been trained  (a) in SENDISP's jurisdictions and  (b) specifically as a case management chair in SENDISP.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expertise or training in special educational needs will be required of chairs of the new Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel.

Bridget Prentice: The chairs of case management hearings will be specifically trained for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Panel's (SENDISP) work. No person will chair a Special Educational Needs and Disability case management hearing unless that person has been trained  (a) in SENDISP's jurisdictions and  (b) specifically as a case management chair in SENDISP.
	All current chairs of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal will remain as chairs of the SENDISP. No additional chairs are being sought at this time. Any future appointees will receive the same training as current appointees.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans are in place to assess and review the effects of implementation of the changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Bridget Prentice: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) has established a special user group, on which the parent-led Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is represented, to advise it on what is practical and appropriate for users in the new arrangements. The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) will be able to ask the Senior President of Tribunals to report on this group's work in the annual report that the Senior President of Tribunals submits to him.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken in response to representations from parents about the changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal to be made on 3 November 2008.

Bridget Prentice: The judicial management group of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) has been running a user group since June of this year with key stakeholders to consider the rules, practice directions and case management processes. A meeting has taken place with the National Association of Independent Schools and Non-Maintained Special Schools and the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice. The majority of the representations from parents have been incorporated into the final rules of procedure and practice directions for the jurisdiction of SENDIST within the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. SENDIST acting judicial lead, Mr. Simon Oliver, has attended and is continuing to attend parent organisations to help explain the changes and contribute to parent representative training.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the time needed by organisations providing support to parents going to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal to retrain their staff to advise parents on the new system.

Bridget Prentice: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal has been specifically allocated £20,000 to train user organisations about the new processes. We are providing training for any representative of service users who wishes to sign up for the courses in the programme. Training will take place throughout November in Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London. Over 400 individuals have signed up for the free half-day training. It will be delivered by the judiciary, parent representatives and local education authorities representative members of the special user group.

Suicide Act 1961

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the operation of section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961; and how many proceedings have been brought under this section since 1978.

Jack Straw: As a result of public concern about possible links between suicide and the internet, and in line with recommendations from the Byron Review and the Law Commission, we have considered whether the law in this area could usefully be clarified. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle) told Parliament in a written ministerial statement on 17 September 2008,  Official Report, column 142WS, we have concluded that the scope of the current law should not be changed but that the existing statutory language of section 2 of the Suicide Act should be simplified and modernised in a way which will make it clearer for everyone to understand.
	The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to the Suicide Act 1961 S.2(l), 1978 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in November of 2008.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences relating to the Suicide Act 1961 S.2(1), 1978 to 2006( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 1978 0 
			 1979 0 
			 1980 l 
			 1981 4 
			 1982 2 
			 1983 2 
			 1984 1 
			 1985 0 
			 1986 1 
			 1987 2 
			 1988 1 
			 1989 5 
			 1990 11 
			 1991 1 
			 1992 4 
			 1993 3 
			 1994 0 
			 1995 3 
			 1996 3 
			 1997 4 
			 1998 1 
			 1999 2 
			 2000 4 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 0 
			 2006 5 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Suicide Act 1961 Sec 2(1). Suicide (Aiding, Abetting etc). (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates' courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit - Ministry of Justice.

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he intends to introduce regulations on charging orders under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Jack Straw: The enforcement law reforms in part 4 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, which relate to charging orders, require the development of underpinning rules and regulations.
	A recently completed scoping exercise, which involved a series of meetings with relevant stakeholders, identified issues that require further public consultation.
	Our proposed approach to progressing this and achieving implementation of the Act is being developed and we anticipate that this part of the work will be completed shortly.

Youth Offending Teams: Standards

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the national performance targets for youth offending teams were in each of the last five years; and what the performance of Torbay Youth Offending Team was against those targets.

David Hanson: A summary of Youth Offending Teams national performance targets for the last five years, along with information on Torbay YOT's performance against these targets is shown.
	 First-time entrants
	These data are not yet available.
	 Final Warnings
	The performance indicator for the years 2003-04,2004-05 and 2005-06 was to ensure that 80 per cent. of final warnings were supported by interventions. For the years 2006-07 and 2007-08 the target was raised to 100 per cent. but only applied to young people if their total asset score is greater than or equal to 12, there are any concerns of risk of serious harm to others or their total score is less than 12 but any sections score four. The required target was met by Torbay YOT in each of these years.
	 Use of secure facilities
	The secure remand performance indicator for years 2003-04, 2004-05,2005-06 and 2006-07 was to reduce the number of remands to the secure estate to no more than 30 per cent. of all remand episode decisions (excluding conditional and unconditional bail). In 2007-08 the new remand target was to reduce the number of remands to no more than 9 per cent. of all remand episode decisions (excluding unconditional bail). The target for custodial sentences was to reduce the number of custodial episodes to no more than 6 per cent. of all court disposals in years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, and to no more than 5 per cent. in the years 2006-07 and 2007-08. The Torbay YOT has achieved the target for custodial sentences in all five years whereas the target for secure remands was met in 2005-06 only.
	 Restorative justice
	The performance indicator for 2007-08 was to ensure that victims participate in restorative processes in 25 per cent. of relevant disposals referred to the YOT. Prior to 2007-08 the indicator was to ensure that 75 per cent. of the victims of all youth crimes referred to YOTs are offered the opportunity to participate in a restorative process. In 2003-04 the indicator was to ensure restorative processes are used in 80 per cent. of disposals. The target was exceeded by the YOT in Torbay in all years except in 2003-04.
	 Victim Satisfaction
	In 2003-04 the performance indicator was to ensure that, by the end of the year, 70 per cent. of victims who have been consulted or participated in restorative processes were either satisfied or very satisfied with the outcome. In years 2004-05 to 2006-07 the indicator was to ensure that 75 per cent. of victims participating in a restorative process were satisfied. In 2007/08 the target raised to 85 per cent. The indicator has been exceeded by the Torbay YOT in all five years.
	 Parenting interventions
	In 2007-08 the indicator was to ensure that for 20 per cent. of young people with Final Warnings with intervention, relevant community-based penalties, or DTO, their parent/carer(s) received a parenting intervention. Previously the target was 10 per cent. of young people with community-based penalties. Torbay YOT achieved the target in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	 Parental Satisfaction
	In 2003-04 the performance indicator was to ensure that 70 per cent. of parents completed parenting programmes (voluntary and statutory) and that, of those, at least 70 per cent. were satisfied or very satisfied—the target was met by Torbay. In years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 the parental satisfaction indicator was to ensure that 75 per cent. of parents participating in parenting interventions are satisfied. The indicator was exceeded by Torbay YOT in each of those years.
	 Parenting prevention
	The performance indicator for 2007-08 was to ensure that for 20 per cent. of young people on prevention programmes, their parent/carer(s) receive a parenting intervention. The target has been successfully met by the Torbay YOT.
	 Asset
	The performance indicator was to ensure that Asset was completed for all (100 per cent.) young people subject to final warnings, relevant community based penalties and sentences.
	The required target was achieved by Torbay YOT in 2003/04,2004/05,2005/06 and has been narrowly missed in 2006-07.
	 Pre-sentence reports
	The performance indicator was to ensure that 90 per cent. of pre-sentence reports (PSR) prepared for courts were produced within the time scale prescribed by National Standards. The target has been narrowly missed in 2003-04 and achieved in all of the remaining years.
	 Detention and Training Order
	The performance indicator was to ensure that all (100 per cent.) initial training plans for young people subject to DTOs were developed within the time scales prescribed by national standards. The Torbay YOT met this indicator in 2003-04,2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	 Education, training and employment
	The performance indicator was to ensure that 90 per cent. of young offenders supervised by YOTs are in suitable full-time education, training or employment (ETE). The required target level has still not been met by the YOT in Torbay.
	 Suitable accommodation
	The performance indicator was to ensure that all (100 per cent.) young people completing community interventions, or on release from the secure estate, have suitable accommodation to go to. Torbay has narrowly missed this target in each of the years.
	 Mental Health
	The performance indicator was to ensure that all (100 per cent.) young people, who were assessed by Asset or the Mental Health Assessment Framework as manifesting:
	acute mental health difficulties, are referred by YOTs to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for a formal assessment commencing within five working days of the receipt of referral, with a view to their accessing a tier 3 service or other appropriate CAMHS tier service based on this assessment
	non-acute mental health concerns are referred by the YOT for an assessment, and engagement by the appropriate CAMHS tier (1-3) commencing within 15 working days.
	The target on Acute Mental Health was achieved by Torbay YOT in 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2006-07. On non-acute mental health the target has been met in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
	 Substance Misuse
	The performance indicator was to ensure all young people were screened for substance misuse, that those with identified needs receive appropriate specialist assessment within five working days and following the assessment, access the early intervention and treatment services they require within 10 working days. The target on the timeliness of the assessments has been achieved by Torbay YOT in 2006-07 and 2007-08. The target for the timeliness of the interventions has been met in each year since 2005-06.
	 Reoffending
	In 2006-07 the performance indicator was to reduce the reoffending rate for the 2005 cohort after 12 months, when compared to the 2002 baseline, with the respect of the following four populations:
	pre-court
	first-tier penalties
	community penalties
	custodial penalties
	Torbay YOT met the target and reduced the reoffending rate by 12.4 per cent.
	 Ethnicity
	The performance indicator for 2006-07 and 2007-08 was to ensure that any significant difference between the ethnic composition of offenders on all pre-court and court disposals and the ethnic composition of the local community was reduced year on year. The indicator focuses on achieving a significant reduction (with a 90 per cent. confidence interval) in the disproportionally of the ethnic group most over-represented in 2005-06.
	Torbay YOT has not been scored on ethnicity as the overrepresentation in 2005-06 was not statistically significant.
	The following table shows performance against the targets/indicators.
	
		
			  Performance indicators2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Reduction in the reoffending rate compared to 2002 baseline  Target — — — 5.0 — 
			   Torbay — — — 12.4 — 
			 Final Warnings  Target 80.0 80.0 80.0 100.0 100.0 
			   Torbay 93.5 92.8 85.3 100.0 98.1 
			 Use of secure facilities Secure remands Target 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 9.0 
			   Torbay 46.2 35.3 26.7 35.0 10.3 
			  Use of custody Target 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 5.0 
			   Torbay 0.7 0.8 3.7 2.4 3.3 
			 Restorative justice Restorative justice Target 80.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 25.0 
			   Torbay 72.4 90.6 85.8 93.4 62.2 
			  Victim satisfaction Target 70.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 85.0 
			   Torbay 92.4 97.6 97.1 99.1 98.1 
			 Parenting Parenting interventions Target — 10.0 10.0 10.0 20.0 
			   Torbay — 18.7 16.9 11.6 8.6 
			  Parenting satisfactions (prevention programmes 07-08*) Target 70.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 *20 
			   Torbay 100.0 93.3 95.2 95.5 *20 
			 Asset  Target 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 — 
			   Torbay 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.4 — 
			 Pre Sentence Reports  Target 90.0 90.0 90.0 90.0 — 
			   Torbay *89.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 — 
			 Detention Training Orders  Target 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			   Torbay 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 90.9 
			 Education, Training and Employment  Target 90.0 90.0 90.0 90.0 90.0 
			   Torbay 73.2 81.7 85.9 82.2 76.8 
			 Accommodation  Target 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			   Torbay 97.0 99.0 96.1 95.1 97.1 
			 Mental Health  Target 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			  Acute CAMHS Torbay 100.0 n/a 100.0 100.0 n/a 
			   Target 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			  Non-acute CAMHS Torbay 100.0 100.0 86.7 78.3 82.9 
			 Substance Misuse  Target — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			  assessment Torbay — 77.8 97.1 100.0 100.0 
			   Target — 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			  intervention Torbay — 98.4 100.0 100.0 100.0

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Anti-Semitism

Tim Boswell: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress the Crown Prosecution Service has made on an action plan following its response to the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has written to the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on anti-Semitism with a copy of its anti-Semitic crime action plan. The plan sets out how the CPS will take the following action:
	Provide prosecutors with better guidance to help them identify and refer appropriate cases to the CPS' counter-terrorism division;
	Ensure a proactive approach when working with the police so that the strongest possible cases are built;
	Improve the level of support provided to victims of anti-Semitic crime, and encourage victims to support a prosecution; and
	Increase and improve community engagement.

Departmental NDPBs

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Solicitor-General what funding has been agreed with each of the Law Officers' Departments' non-departmental public bodies for the period 2008 to 2011.

Vera Baird: The Law Officers' Departments do not have any non-departmental public bodies. However, a new agency, the National Fraud Strategic Authority, was established on 1 October 2008 and has resource funding of £3.6 million for 2008-09, £3.8 million for 2009-10 and £4.9 million for 2010-11.

Departmental Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in the Attorney-General's office in the last 12 months; and at what total cost.

Vera Baird: There were 25 non-pensionable bonuses awarded to staff in the Attorney-General's Office in the last year at a total cost of £122,597.00
	Of these, three were special bonuses awarded to staff at a total cost of £750.00. A special bonus payment is nominated by a line manager for an exceptional piece of work or performance.
	11 were performance bonuses following appraisals at a total cost of £6,707.00
	11 were SCS board recommendations at a total cost of £115,140.00.

SCOTLAND

Christmas

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Christmas functions  (a) he,  (b) officials from his Department and  (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) host and (ii) attend in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was; and if he will make a statement.

Ann McKechin: The Secretary of State for Scotland attended two Christmas functions during 2007-08. There was no additional cost to the public purse for attendance at these events. No functions were hosted or paid for by the Scotland Office during this period. No Scotland Office officials attended any Christmas functions in their official capacity during this period.

Taxis

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was claimed in expenses for taxi travel by officials from his Department in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2004-05,  (d) 2003-04 and  (e) 2002-03; and if he will make a statement.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland spent the following on taxis for staff:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 8,659 
			 2003-04 8,172 
			 2004-05 7,821 
			 2005-06 8,291 
			 2006-07 7,595

HEALTH

Cancer

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1878W, on cancer, what percentage of cancer patients in each  (a) cancer network and  (b) primary care trust area survived five years beyond diagnosis.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	.
	Cancer survival rates are only produced for specific cancers. A figure giving the overall survival rate for all cancer patients is not produced as it would not be meaningful to combine figures for disparate conditions having very different survival rates.
	ONS regularly publishes five-year survival rates for patients resident in 'Spearhead' primary care trusts of England, compared with those resident in the rest of England. The latest figures on survival rates for ten cancers (bladder, breast, cervix, colon, lung, oesophagus, ovary, prostate, rectum and stomach) diagnosed during 1998-2003 and followed for survival up to the end of 2004, are in Table I below.
	The figures are also available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=14821.
	For added information to your question, the lowest geographical area for which rates are available are strategic health authority areas. Five-year survival rates for patients resident in government office regions, and strategic health authorities for eight cancers (bladder, breast, cervix, colon, lung, oesophagus, prostate and stomach) are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk =11991&Pos=9&ColRank=l&Rank=272
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce survival rates by cancer network. However, the Cancer Survival Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published the following methodological paper in the ONS publication 'Health Statistics Quarterly':
	Ellis L, Rachet B & Coleman MP. Cancer survival indicators by Cancer Network: a methodological perspective. Health Statistics Quarterly 2007; 36; 36-41.
	
		
			  Table 1: Five-year age-standardised( 1)  relative survival( 2)  (percentage) for adult( 3 ) patients diagnosed during 1998 to 2003 and followed up to the end of 2004, 10 common cancers, by sex: 'Spearhead' primary care trusts (PCTs)( 4)  and rest of England( 5) 
			   Five-year relative survival (percentage) 
			  Cancer( 6)   Spearhead PCTs  Rest of England 
			 Bladder Men 57.1 60.4 
			  Women 49.1 53.6 
			  Persons 55.0 58.6 
			 
			 Breast Women 78.2 79.8 
			 
			 Cervix Women 63.3 62.7 
			 
			 Colon Men 47.1 48.3 
			  Women 47.9 49.6 
			  Persons 47.4 48.9 
			 
			 Lung Men 5.9 6.6 
			  Women 7.5 7.6 
			  Persons 6.6 6.9 
			 
			 Oesophagus Men 7.4 8.8 
			  Women 8.9 11.6 
			  Persons 8.0 9.7 
			 
			 Ovary Women 39.2 37.9 
			 
			 Prostate Men 69.2 71.1 
			 
			 Rectum Men 46.6 50.8 
			  Women 50.1 53.7 
			  Persons 47.7 52.1 
			 
			 Stomach Men 12.6 13.0 
			  Women 14.8 16.3 
			  Persons 13.3 14.2 
			 (1 )Cancer survival varies with age at diagnosis, so the survival rates for all ages (15 to 99 years) have been age-standardised to control for differences in the age profile of cancer patients between geographical areas. (2 )Relative survival takes into account that some cancer patients will die from causes other than their cancer. It is the ratio of the crude survival to the survival in a corresponding (age and sex) group in the general population. (3 )Aged 15 to 99 years at diagnosis. (4 )On 19 November 2004, the Department of Health named the 88 most health-deprived primary care trusts (PCTs) in England included in the 'Spearhead' group. (5 )All other primary care trusts (PCTs) in England not included in the 'Spearhead' group. (6 )Cancers registered in 1998 to 2003 are defined by codes in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Therefore, bladder cancer is defined by code C67, breast cancer by code C50, cervical cancer by code C53, colon cancer by code CI8, lung cancer by code C34, oesophageal cancer by code CI5, ovarian cancer by code C56, prostate cancer by code C61, rectal cancer by code C20 and stomach cancer by code CI6.

Care Homes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority spent on state-funded care in each of the last five financial years, broken down by  (a) community-based care and  (b) residential care.

Ben Bradshaw: Data on local authority expenditure on state funded care are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. Information on the gross expenditure by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) on residential care and community based services between 2003-04 and 2007-08 has been placed in the Library.

Cataracts: Waiting Lists

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the median waiting time for treatment of cataracts in NHS hospitals was in each year since 1997-98; and how many treatments were provided in each such year.

Ann Keen: The following table sets out the median days waited in England for cataract operations and the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where a cataract operation was the main or secondary procedure in each year since 1997-98.
	
		
			   Median days waited  FCEs 
			 1997-98 164 179,393 
			 1998-99 188 221,393 
			 1999-2000 165 231,699 
			 2000-01 154 256,164 
			 2001-02 145 263,947 
			 2002-03 140 284,852 
			 2003-04 124 312,447 
			 2004-05 78 319,933 
			 2005-06 68 302,876 
			 2006-07 69 305,612 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 
			  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Departmental Consultants

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which of his Department's programmes  (a) the total cost of employing consultants has surpassed £500,000 and  (b) his Department employed consultants at a cost of more than £100,000 per annum in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Marketing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of Government-commissioned advertising in the last 12 months relating to matters falling within the remit of his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department uses a number of effectiveness evaluation techniques including quantitative awareness tracking, response tracking and multiple data source evaluation techniques such as COI Artemis. A Central Office of Information (COI) service designed to capture and report centrally across all campaigns to enable:
	 1. Response and conversion analysis:
	by audience, media channel, vehicle of response;
	viewed alongside awareness;
	 2. Campaign Planning:
	setting realistic objectives;
	task based budget setting;
	improving plans; and
	 3. Forecasting demand.
	The Department also buys its media centrally through COI and therefore benefits from significant, independently verified, discounts.

Departmental Pay

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets the Commercial Director of his Department must achieve to qualify for bonus payment; and what bonus levels are in place.

Ben Bradshaw: All Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts are covered by SCS pay and performance management arrangements. These arrangements apply across all departments, and postholders have individual performance agreements set annually. The size of any bonus will depend on how the postholder performs relative to other SCS colleagues in the Department.

Diazoxide

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of levels of availability and supply of the drug diazoxide suspension.

Dawn Primarolo: Diazoxide suspension is not licensed for use in the United Kingdom. Under UK Medicines Legislation, doctors are allowed to prescribe unlicensed medicines for use on an individual patient basis, but take direct personal responsibility for their use. Diazoxide suspension is available from abroad, and may also be produced in the UK under a manufacturer's licence allowing production of unlicensed products. The product is currently available via either of these routes.

Disability Aids: Sight Impairment

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given on the rules covering companies which both produce and conduct assessments of products for visually-impaired people to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

Ann Keen: holding answer 16 October 2008
	 The Department has issued no guidance on this matter.

FirstAssist

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid by the NHS Litigation Authority to FirstAssist by way of premiums; and how much has been paid by FirstAssist to the NHS Litigation Authority by way of payments under policies of insurance in each year since the inception of the accord between the NHS Litigation Authority and FirstAssist.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority has not paid any money to FirstAssist by way of premiums. Where the NHSLA makes payments for legal costs, these payments are made to claimants' solicitors as global figures to cover all costs in the case and not to the insurer. The NHSLA does not record separately whether payments have been made or received under the accord. Providing this detailed information could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

FirstAssist

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions since its inception the accord between the NHS Litigation Authority and FirstAssist has not been complied with in the payment of monies by the NHS Litigation Authority to FirstAssist.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority does not record separately for individual cases where the accord has not been complied with. Providing the information requested could be achieved only at disproportionate cost. However, we understand that while disputes over premiums have been raised, compromise has always been reached without the need to refer to a costs judge for a detailed assessment.

FirstAssist

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 455W, on the NHS: negligence, what the legal basis is for the non-binding status of the accord between the NHS Litigation Authority and FirstAssist.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority has informed us that both parties are agreed that the Accord between them is not binding.

General Practitioners: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average general medical services weighted capitation payment received by GP practices was in  (a) England and  (b) each primary care trust, in each of the last four years.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on general medical services average weighted capitation payments received by general practitioner practices in both England and by primary care trusts for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 has been placed in the Library. Figures for 2007-08 are not currently available.

Health Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data his Department has gathered from primary care trusts to assess progress in the implementation of the GP-led health centres programme.

Ben Bradshaw: Primary care trusts provide a monthly update on progress against national procurement milestones, confirmation of compliance with core criteria, the expected date of service commencement, and where known, the postcode of the service location.

Health Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of allowing primary care trusts to provide a minimum income guarantee to the new GP-led health centres to open in their areas on existing GP practices.

Ben Bradshaw: Providing an income guarantee to a new general practitioner (GP)-led health centre will have no impact on the funding of existing GP practices.
	It is for each primary care trusts to determine locally the funding for their health centre, including what percentage of income is to be guaranteed to the provider, and for how long.

Health Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have made a request to his Department that an existing health centre or health centre already under development be counted as its contribution to his Department's programme for a GP-led health centre in each primary care trust area; and which requests were accepted.

Ben Bradshaw: All primary care trusts have been asked to commission an additional general practitioner-led health centre, and have been given additional funding to commission those services. The Department has not received specific requests from primary care trusts to use existing health centres. PCTs have been guided by the principle that these should be new procurements, but that they could count any planned health centres as long as they had not already been put out to tender before the publication of "Our NHS, Our Future: The NHS Next Stage Review Interim Report" in October 2007, and met the core criteria. These are centres that must be open 8am to 8pm 365 days a year and be situated in easily accessible locations, with bookable and walk-in appointments for both registered and non-registered patients.

Health Centres: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1689W, on health centres, for what reason GP-led health centres will not receive payments for treating patients registered with another GP practice.

Ben Bradshaw: Payment for services delivered by each general practitioner (GP)-led health centre is a local matter for each primary care trust (PCT). PCTs have been advised to make payments on a similar basis to that which existing GP practices receive funding for treating patients i.e. a mixture of funding based on the number of patients registered with them and volume of activity of treating patients not registered with the centre.

Health Centres: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1689W, on health centres: finance, how much each primary care trust will receive of the £120 million allocated for new GP-led health centres.

Ben Bradshaw: A £250 million access revenue fund was secured for the NHS through the comprehensive spending review process to support the delivery of general practitioner (GP)-led health centres in every primary care trust (PCT) and 112 new GP practices in the most poorly served PCTs. Collectively, £120 million of the access fund will be recurrently allocated to PCTs in their general allocation using the standard weighted capitation formula which determines each PCTs target share of available resources. PCTs general allocations and are not broken down into individual components for specific policy delivery. General allocations to PCTs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be announced in due course.

Health Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which comparable measures of the quality of acute patient care have been identified, as referred to on page 50 of High Quality Care for All, Cm 7432; what assessment he has made of the robustness of such measures; what plans he has to increase the accuracy of the measures included in the integrated national set; whether he plans to publish a draft integrated national set of quality metrics for consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: A full set of quality measures for acute patient care has not yet been identified. Departmental officials, in partnership with the NHS Information Centre for health and social care have begun identifying measures from existing sources in the national health service, other health-related organisations and internationally. These measures have been informally assessed for robustness in terms of availability and relevance to a broad range of clinical care areas.
	Further work on the usefulness and accuracy of such measures, including definitions and methodology, is required before indicators can be considered viable for use in an integrated national set. This work will be informed by further discussion and consultation with clinical and expert stakeholders.

Hospital Beds

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the pilot project to evaluate the implications for nursing of 100 per cent. single room provision in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The pilot project at Hillingdon hospital to develop and test a 24-bed ward of single rooms has progressed to a stage where the construction of the unit is now complete. A plan is in place to test the prototype accommodation in use through an evidence-based programme of research. This will focus on clinical outcomes, economic outcomes, patient and staff satisfaction and spatial analysis. Learning from the pilot will be transferable across the whole national health service.

Hospital Wards

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to phase out mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals.

Ann Keen: The Department's guidance to the national health service has always required single sex accommodation rather than single sex wards. Even within a mixed ward, good single sex accommodation can be achieved by using single rooms or single sex bays and toilet facilities.
	The Department continues to engage strategic health authorities about their plans to deliver a reduction in mixed sex accommodation, thus keeping levels to an absolute minimum, and where possible eliminating it.
	Local plans have been made in the context of the operating framework for the NHS in England (2008-09) (this publication has already been deposited in the Library), which requires primary care trusts to review the current situation in all trusts and agree, publish, and implement stretching local plans for improvement in delivering single sex accommodation, with identified timescales and monitoring mechanisms. The framework specifically requires that patient survey results, where available, be used as the monitoring mechanism.

Hospitals: Libraries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on hospital libraries in the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not collected centrally.

Hospitals: Security Guards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on security staff in hospitals in  (a) England and  (b) the London Borough of Havering in the last year for which information is available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Injuries: Health Services

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many minor injuries units there were  (a) at the most recent date for which figures are available and  (b) in 2006-07.

Ann Keen: National health service trusts in England self-report the number of accident and emergency (A&E) services they provide against definitions provided by the Department on a quarterly basis. This includes type 3 services, which are A&E services providing minor injury and illness services and include walk-in centres and minor injury units.
	It is possible to provide numbers of type 3 services excluding walk-in centres. However, the remaining type 3 services may provide a range of minor injury and illness services, not simply a count of minor injury units.
	Latest information shows that, for the quarter ending in June 2008, NHS trusts self-reported 214 type 3 A&E services, excluding walk-in centres. For 2006-07 the figure was 220.
	 Notes:
	1. From Q1 2007-08, for the first time, data includes information from appropriate independent sector providers that provide services only to NHS patients.
	2. The figure for 2006-07 was the position at end March 2007 (quarter four 2006-07).

Injuries: Offensive Weapons

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) under 16,  (b) between 16 and 18 and  (c) over 18 years were admitted to hospital with stab wounds in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The following primary care trust (PCT) tables provide information from hospital episode statistics for South Tyneside, the north-east and England. There is no information provided for Jarrow because data are not collected for that geographical area. Information has been provided according to the age categories requested where possible. However, no age breakdown has been provided for South Tyneside PCT because the numbers involved are below five and need to be suppressed in order to maintain confidentiality.
	The code 'W26' is used for such diagnoses as accidental knife injuries and should exclude assault and intentional self-harm. The code 'X99' includes cases where someone has been attacked using a sharp object of some kind (including but not exclusive to knives). Information has been provided for W26 and X99.
	Reference should be made to the footnotes and clinical codes when interpreting the data.
	
		
			  Total number of admissions to hospital for stab wounds( 1)  for years 1996-97 to 2006-07, broken down by age—where possible—for South Tyneside PCT, North East SHA and England 
			  South Tyneside PCT 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			 2006-07 12 22 
			 2005-06 13 26 
			 2004-05 17 32 
			 2003-04 20 38 
			 2002-03 20 23 
			 2001-02 15 26 
			 2000-01 18 19 
			 1999-2000 14 18 
			 1998-99 23 11 
			 1997-98 20 11 
		
	
	
		
			  North-east 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			   Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown  Total  Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown  Total 
			 2006-07 27 29 306 0 365 10 36 313 0 363 
			 2005-06 21 41 328 0 390 4 33 333 0 370 
			 2004-05 32 31 366 0 429 13 44 327 0 384 
			 2003-04 28 27 379 0 434 8 41 285 0 334 
			 2002-03 29 34 307 0 370 7 31 294 0 332 
			 2001-02 19 32 346 0 397 18 35 297 0 350 
			 2000-01 31 21 284 0 336 3 32 249 0 284 
			 1999-2000 27 23 289 0 339 6 35 252 0 293 
			 1998-99 22 24 246 0 292 5 26 234 1 266 
			 1997-98 22 25 211 0 258 9 29 209 0 247 
		
	
	
		
			  England 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			   Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown  Total  Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown  Total 
			 2006-07 316 370 4,598 0 5,284 179 752 4,786 3 5,720 
			 2005-06 343 408 4,569 1 5,321 169 668 4,655 4 5,496 
			 2004-05 331 358 4,249 1 4,939 143 553 4,374 2 5,072 
			 2003-04 312 330 4,277 2 4,921 110 529 4,125 10 4,774 
			 2002-03 348 350 4,107 0 4,805 95 429 3,745 6 4,275 
			 2001-02 347 340 3,943 37 4,667 132 508 3,973 29 4,642 
			 2000-01 333 335 3,934 5 4,607 130 444 3,662 13 4,249 
			 1999-2000 320 347 3,791 4 4,462 118 437 3,549 21 4,125 
			 1998-99 298 321 3,380 3 4,002 88 355 3,206 18 3,667 
			 1997-98 277 279 3,114 60 3,730 112 422 3,283 58 3,875 
		
	
	
		
			  Total number of admissions per 100,000 to hospital for stab wounds( 1)  for years 1996-97 to 2006-07, broken down—where possible—by age for South Tyneside PCT, North East SHA and England 
			  South Tyneside PCT 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			 2006-07 7.95 14.57 
			 2005-06 8.60 17.20 
			 2004-05 11.24 21.15 
			 2003-04 13.16 25.01 
			 2002-03 13.11 15.08 
		
	
	
		
			  North-east 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			  Under 16 16-18 Over 18 Unknown Under 16 16-18 Over 18 Unknown 
			 2006-07 5.75 28.50 15.42 0.00 2.13 35.39 15.77 0.00 
			 2005-06 4.43 40.12 16.62 0.00 0.84 32.29 16.87 0.00 
			 2004-05 6.67 30.02 18.68 0.00 2.71 42.62 16.69 0.00 
			 2003-04 5.76 26.23 19.41 0.00 1.65 39.84 14.60 0.00 
			 2002-03 5.89 33.56 15.77 0.00 142 30.60 15.10 0.00 
			 2001-02 3.79 32.40 17.83 0.00 3.59 35.43 15.31 0.00 
			 2000-01 6.09 21.65 14.66 0.00 0.59 32.99 12.85 0.00 
			 1999-2000 5.24 23.40 14.92 0.00 1.16 35.61 13.01 0.00 
			 1998-99 4.22 24.20 12.68 0.00 0.96 26.22 12.06 0.04 
			 1997-98 4.17 25.16 10.87 0.00 1.71 29.19 10.77 0.00 
		
	
	
		
			  England 
			   Stab wounds 
			   W26  X99 
			   Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown  Under 16  16-18  Over 18  Unknown 
			 2006-07 1.63 9.26 5.88 0.00 0.93 18.82 6.12 0.00 
			 2005-06 1.77 10.30 5.89 0.00 0.87 16.86 6.00 0.00 
			 2004-05 1.70 9.16 5.53 0.00 0.73 14.15 5.70 0.00 
			 2003-04 1.59 8.59 5.61 0.00 0.56 13.77 5.41 0.00 
			 2002-03 1.77 9.32 5.42 0.00 0.48 11.43 4.94 0.00 
			 2001-02 1.75 9.28 5.23 0.00 0.67 13.87 5.27 0.00 
			 2000-01 1.67 9.39 5.25 0.00 0.65 12.45 4.89 0.00 
			 1999-2000 1.60 9.66 5.09 0.00 0.59 12.16 4.77 0.00 
			 1998-99 1.49 8.87 4.57 0.00 0.44 9.81 4.33 0.00 
			 1997-98 1.39 7.75 4.22 0.00 0.56 11.72 4.45 0.00 
			  Notes: 1. Assignment of episodes to years: Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay. 2. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 3. Cause code—stab wounds(1): The cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. HES has used the following ICD-10 external cause codes when referring to stab wounds. Stab wounds(1): W26—Contact with knife, sword or dagger. X99—Assault by sharp object. 4. Data quality: Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected by the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 6. Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 7. Low numbers: Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). 8. Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality: PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of Treatment and SHA of Treatment is poor in 1996-97,1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of GP practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.  Sources: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Population data 1997-2006 SHA Mid Year Estimates, 2001 Census based. Source: ONS Population Estimates Unit 2002-06 PCT population data is calculated out on the new ONS methodology and are the recognised population estimates. Previous methodology was applied to data of 2001 only but has been disregarded for the purpose of this PQ as the totals of the old methodologies and new methodologies will not be the same.

Medical Treatments: Finance

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of medical care per head of prison population was in each of the last 10 years.

Phil Hope: For 2008-09, a £202 million investment has been made in prison health care. Based on Current population figures, this equates to £2,435 per head.
	The Department does not hold details of clinical care on a cost per case basis nor is information on previous years held centrally.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects his Department to respond to the letter sent by the hon. Member for Billericay to the Under-Secretary of State for Health, dated 25 September, on the subject of the accord between the NHS Litigation Authority and FirstAssist.

Ann Keen: Information regarding the accord between FirstAssist and the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) is not held by the Department. It is necessary to obtain the information from the NHSLA and every effort will be made to respond within the Department's Whitehall Standard target of 20 working days from receipt of the letter.

Mental Health Services: Young Offender Institutions

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on average in providing child and adolescent mental health services for each young offenders institution in each of the last eight years; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Transfer of the responsibility for commissioning health services in young offender institutions, and adult prisons in England, commenced in 2003 and was fully devolved to the NHS by April 2006. Primary care trusts (PCTs) work with their partner establishments to develop a comprehensive health needs assessment of the population and commission on the basis of that need.
	Since 2006 all funding, including funding for mental health, forms part of the wider health care allocation and is paid out as part of the NHS bundle and part of the PCT main allocation.
	The Department has provided £1.5 million additional funding for 2007-08, repeated in 2008-09, to extend the range of child and adolescent mental health services in the secure estate for children and young people.

Mental Health Services: Young Offender Institutions

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which child and adolescent mental health service inreach teams which carry out psychological assessments of young offenders at young offender institutions routinely carry out assessments of all offenders at those institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally.
	All young offenders receive health screening including mental health on reception into custody. This is via an evidence-based health screen used throughout all prisons in England and originally developed by Professor Grubin of the University of Newcastle.

Mental Health Services: Young Offender Institutions

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people who were serving sentences at each young offender institution who had been receiving treatment from child and adolescent mental health services prior to commencing their sentence in each of the last eight years.

Phil Hope: This information is not available centrally.
	The availability of health care records is something which Connecting for Health are actively pursuing through general practitioner (GP) to GP links. These systems are currently available in the wider community, but not yet available to the offender population.
	Work is under way within the Department to look at GP registration for offenders and the road map for Prison Health IT as part of the future proofing for the current prison IT programme, and in recognition of any recommendations which fall out of the Bradley Review, CAMHS Review and the Children and Young People Health and Social Care Strategy, to ensure those wider Connecting for Health processes (such as GP registration and connectivity to the NHS spine) are made available to the wider offender population including young people.

Midwives: Training

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2008,  Official Report, column 483W, on midwives: training, whether the number of NHS midwifery training places commissioned for the 2007-08 academic year has been confirmed.

Ann Keen: The confirmed number of national health service midwifery training places commissioned for the 2007-08 academic year is 2,071.
	The following table shows the number of NHS midwifery confirmed training places commissioned each year from 1996-97 to 2007-08.
	
		
			   1996-97  1999-2000  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Degree 161 395 621 709 753 895 1,042 788 1,307 
			 Diploma 498 620 525 724 716 744 517 648 412 
			 Other 993 757 732 677 757 735 661 554 352 
			 Total 1,652 1,772 1,878 2,110 2,226 2,374 2,220 1,990 2,071 
			  Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns.

Neurology: Manpower

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many neurologists are employed by the NHS; how many were employed in 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The number of neurological consultants employed by the national health service was 278 (246 full-time equivalent (FTE)) in 1997. This figure had risen to 539 (486 FTE) by September 2007.

NHS

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with a home address in  (a) Scotland and  (b) Northern Ireland were treated in NHS facilities in England in each year since 2006.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of admissions to hospital where the patient's home address is in Scotland or Northern Ireland in 2005-06 and 2006-07 
			  Strategic health authority (SHA) of residence  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Scotland 7,378 7,518 
			 Northern Ireland 1,483 1,483 
			 Total 12,678,628 12,976,273 
			  Note:  Total includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, other countries and unknown SHA of residence  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

NHS: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts are deemed financially challenged; what the cumulative deficit of each such trust is; what estimate has been made of the proportion of turnover for 2008-09 that the deficit represents in each case; what support such trusts are receiving; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department introduced a new working capital loans system in 2006-07. Instead of relying on brokerage as a source of funding or planned support, trust working capital requirements must now be financed by loans agreed with the Department and recorded in individual accounts. Organisations now have to address financial problems head-on and take steps to ensure that they live within their means. Deficits remain where they occur, and are transparent in final accounts at the year-end.
	As a result of introducing the new loans system, there were 17 NHS trusts where the financial challenges are such that the Department either could not give a loan because the trust could not afford to meet the repayments, or where a loan was agreed, but the amount could be repaid only over a very extended timescale. Instead these trusts were advanced money as a short-term measure to cover their running costs while a rigorous review was conducted on their finances.
	In the 2007/08 Quarter 4 edition of The Quarter (a copy of which has been placed in the Library), the Department announced that 10 of the original 17 trusts were no longer classified as financially challenged. This was a result of the trusts working extremely hard in conjunction with their strategic health authorities (SHA) and primary care trusts (PCT) to improve their underlying financial position. As a result they are now trading in balance and are able to produce sufficient surpluses going forward to operate as a sustainable organisation, both financially and in the provision of health care. All 10 of these organisations will have repaid their debt within five years
	The remaining seven NHS organisations currently deemed as financially challenged trusts, and their forecast cumulative deficit for the end of the 2008-09 financial year, as a total and as a percentage of their forecasted 2008-09 turnover are given in the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
			  Organisation  Cumulative deficit position at the end of the 2007-08 financial year  Quarter 1 forecast outturn for the 2008-09 financial year  Forecast cumulative deficit position at the end of the 2008-09 financial year  Planned turnover 2008-09  Forecast cumulative deficit position for 2008-09 financial year as percentage of 2008-09 forecast turnover 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (68,454) (23,300) (91,754) 363,958 25 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust (49,515) 203 (49,312) 172,189 29 
			 Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust (38,972) 0 (38,972) 86,060 45 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust (42,953) (5,520) (48,473) 151,164 32 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust (27,474) (14,147) (41,621) 95,649 44 
			 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust (9,638) 300 (9,338) 163,248 6 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust (25,868) (2,753) (28,621) 197,747 14 
		
	
	As reported in the 2008-09 Quarter 1 edition of 'The Quarter', the Department is continuing to work with these organisations to identify sustainable operating and financial solutions as we go forward.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is the senior officer responsible for Connecting for Health.

Ben Bradshaw: Day-to-day responsibility for NHS Connecting for Health and the programmes and projects for which it is responsible lies with Martin Bellamy, director of programme and system delivery. Mr. Bellamy reports to Christine Connelly, the Department's chief information officer for health, whose role is to develop and deliver the Department's overall information strategy and to integrate leadership across the national health service and associated bodies, including NHS Connecting for Health.

NHS: Manpower

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses and  (c) administrators were employed by the NHS in 2007-08.

Ann Keen: The last national health service workforce census showed that as of 30 September 2007, there were 127,645 doctors (excluding retainers, but including general practitioners), 376,737 qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff and 256,686 total clerical and administrative staff.

NHS: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the value was of public-sector pensions in the NHS in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year.

Ann Keen: The information requested for England and Wales is given in the following table.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total pension expenditure (£000) 3,173,435 3,355,137 3,588,832 3,943,072 4,461,791 
			 Employer contributions (£000) 1,632,536 3,588,337 3,890,167 4,301,122 4,579,685 
			 Employee contributions (£000) 1,509,710 1,645,090 1,818,140 1,995,282 2,127,235 
			 Total income received (£000) 3,374,243 5,500,521 5,999,216 6,569,369 7,043,875 
			 Employer contribution rate (Percentage) 7 14 14 14 14 
			 Employee contribution rate (Percentage)  
			 Manual staff 5 5 5 5 5 
			 Others 6 6 6 6 6 
			  Notes: 1. Total pension expenditure includes transfers out and refunds. 2. Total income received includes transfers in, and premature retirement costs.  Source: NHS Pensions.

Organ Donors

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of donor hearts were found to be diseased or otherwise defective prior to transplantation in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of hearts removed from donors  (a) were transplanted into recipients,  (b) reached their destination hospital within four hours of ischaemic time and  (c) were not transplanted into recipients in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Organs are offered to transplant centres for potential transplantation into patients on the basis of the information available about the donor. Transplant centres may decline organs based on the information supplied before they are retrieved.
	Between April 2007 and March 2008 of the 444 hearts which were offered for transplantation, 317 were not accepted because they were damaged, had poor function or for a reason unrelated to the condition of the heart. Of the 127 hearts retrieved, only three were found to be unsuitable on arrival at the transplant centre.
	As for the time between removal and perfusion of the heart to arrival at the recipient hospital in 116 of 127 cases, in over 99 per cent. of cases the organ reached the destination hospital in less than four hours.

Palliative Care

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on "do not resuscitate" decisions.

Ann Keen: Individual decisions about resuscitation, like all treatment decisions, are a matter for the health professionals and patients involved. Health professionals should discuss possible treatment options with patients, including, where appropriate, whether resuscitation should be attempted. If it is agreed that resuscitation should not be attempted, then this agreement should be noted in the person's medical records (a "do not attempt resuscitation" order). As with other treatments, a person with capacity can make an advance decision to refuse resuscitation, which must be followed if it is valid and applicable.
	If the patient does not have the capacity to make the decision, then health professionals will need to make treatment decisions in line with the Mental Capacity Act. The decision must be made in the person's best interests, which includes consideration of the person's wishes and preferences and the person's medical condition and the likely success of resuscitation, in discussion with the person's family and friends.
	Trusts and other organisations should have resuscitation policies in place that reflect clinical best practice and the legal position.

Pharmacy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP dispensaries there are in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England.

Ben Bradshaw: Data are only available by primary care trust area and for England only. Information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for each Devolved Administration.
	The Ribble Valley constituency is covered by two PCTs—Central Lancashire PCT and East Lancashire PCT. There are five PCTs covering the Lancashire area—Central Lancashire PCT; East Lancashire PCT; North Lancashire PCT; Blackpool PCT and Blackburn and Darwen PCT.
	Information on the number of dispensing practices in each PCT area is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Dispensing  Non-dispensing 
			 Blackburn and Darwen PCT (5CC) 0 40 
			 Blackpool PCT (5HP) 0 28 
			 Central Lancashire PCT (5NG) 2 98 
			 East Lancashire PCT (5NH) 6 71 
			 North Lancashire PCT (5NF) 6 47 
			 Total 14 284 
			  Note: 1. Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT became part of East Lancashire PCT on 1 October 2006. 
		
	
	As at 16 October 2008, there were 1,122 dispensing general practitioner practices in England.

Pharmacy: Licensing

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmaceutical licences have been awarded under Section 13 of the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 in  (a) West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency,  (b) Chelmsford local authority area and  (c) England.

Phil Hope: One pharmacy application under regulation 13 of the 2005 regulations was granted in the period 2005-06 to 2006-07 in mid-Essex primary care trust (PCT) and its predecessor organisations (Chelmsford, Maldon and South Chelmsford and Witham, Braintree and Halstead PCTs)—the local geographic area for which data is collected centrally. There were 542 such applications approved in England in the same period. Figures for 2007-08 will be published by the Information Centre for health and social care in due course.

Physiotherapy: Waiting Lists

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for physiotherapy for elderly and vulnerable patients.

Ann Keen: Information about waiting times for physiotherapy is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders, including practice-based commissioners, local government and the public to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including access to physiotherapy.
	The national health service has seen historical levels of investment and a period of expansion in the work force to improve services and reduce waiting times since 1997. The number of physiotherapists employed in the NHS has increased by 41 per cent. since 1997, from 14,243 to 20,146 in 2007.
	In the White Paper, "Our Health our care, our say" (CM 6737) (copies of which are available in the Library), we set out the future direction for health care, including access to physiotherapy. We have collaborated with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy to pilot and evaluate self-referral to physiotherapy. The conclusions from these pilots will be included in a report to be published shortly.
	Physiotherapy services are included in the 18-week patient pathway if their intervention forms part of a consultant-led pathway. The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Service Improvement Programme was undertaken to support AHP service improvement through information management. The outcomes of the programme are the Physiotherapy Pathway Improvement Tool and the Information Management Handbook for AHP Services. Both interactive documents build on good practice to provide guidance for benchmarking current practice, making improvements and monitoring progress. The tools are available on the 18 weeks website at:
	www.18weeks.nhs.uk
	The "NHS Next Stage Review: Our Vision for Primary and Community Care" outlined an intention to support the NHS and community clinicians in making radical change through the transforming community services programme (TCS). Copies of this publication are available in the Library. The clinical and service development workstream within TCS will focus on six clinical areas that will support the improvement of AHP services including physiotherapy for older and vulnerable people.

Social Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities have responsibility for social care services.

Phil Hope: There are 150 councils with social services responsibilities in England. They are:
	Barking and Dagenham
	Barnet
	Barnsley
	Bath and North East Somerset
	Bedfordshire
	Bexley
	Birmingham
	Blackburn
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Bradford
	Brent
	Brighton and Hove
	Bristol
	Bromley
	Buckinghamshire
	Bury
	Calderdale
	Cambridgeshire
	Camden
	Cheshire
	City of London
	Cornwall
	Coventry
	Croydon
	Cumbria
	Darlington
	Derby
	Derbyshire
	Devon
	Doncaster
	Dorset
	Dudley
	Durham
	Ealing
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	East Sussex
	Enfield
	Essex
	Gateshead
	Gloucestershire
	Greenwich
	Hackney
	Halton
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Hampshire
	Haringey
	Harrow
	Hartlepool
	Havering
	Herefordshire
	Hertfordshire
	Hillingdon
	Hounslow
	Isle of Wight
	Isles of Scilly
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kent
	Kingston upon Hull
	Kingston upon Thames
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Lambeth
	Lancashire
	Leeds
	Leicester
	Leicestershire
	Lewisham
	Lincolnshire
	Liverpool
	Luton
	Manchester
	Medway Towns
	Merton
	Middlesbrough
	Milton Keynes
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Newham
	Norfolk
	Northamptonshire
	North East Lincolnshire
	North Lincolnshire
	North Somerset
	North Tyneside
	Northumberland
	North Yorkshire
	Nottingham
	Nottinghamshire
	Oldham
	Oxfordshire
	Peterborough
	Plymouth
	Poole
	Portsmouth
	Reading
	Redbridge
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Richmond upon Thames
	Rochdale
	Rotherham
	Rutland
	Salford
	Sandwell
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	Shropshire
	Slough
	Solihull
	Somerset
	Southampton
	Southend on Sea
	South Gloucestershire
	South Tyneside
	Southwark
	Staffordshire
	St. Helens
	Stockport
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Suffolk
	Sunderland
	Surrey
	Sutton
	Swindon
	Tameside
	The Wrekin
	Thurrock
	Torbay
	Tower Hamlets
	Trafford
	Wakefield
	Walsall
	Waltham Forest
	Wandsworth
	Warrington
	Warwickshire
	West Berkshire
	Westminster
	West Sussex
	Wigan
	Wiltshire
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wirral
	Wokingham
	Wolverhampton
	Worcestershire
	York.

Speech Therapy: Manpower

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of speech and language therapists working in the public service in  (a) Greater London and  (b) England.

Ann Keen: Workforce planning is a matter for local national health service organisations. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will commission the required number of training places to develop the workforce to meet those needs.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Animal Welfare: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what teaching about animal welfare takes place in schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the new secondary curriculum, introduced from this September, there are opportunities for schools to teach about animal welfare. Citizenship helps young people to consider a wide range of political, social, ethical and moral problems. In Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE education), pupils take increasing responsibility for themselves, their choices and their behaviour.
	Resources produced by the RSPCA and by the DCSF Growing Schools programme help teachers to explore animal welfare issues.

Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of  (a) boys and  (b) girls in year (i) 7, (ii) 8, (iii) 9, (iv) 10 and (v) 11 have received (A) fixed-term and (B) permanent exclusions in the last three years for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information on fixed period and permanent exclusions by national curriculum year group can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupil Referral Units: Pupil Exclusions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 498W on Pupil Referral units: Truancy, how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female pupils received (i) temporary and (ii) permanent exclusions from pupil referral units in the school year 2006-07.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information on exclusions from pupil referral units in 2006-07 is not collected centrally.

Pupils: Databases

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made on developing a central database to record pupils' examination results; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on developing a central database to record pupils' examination results; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There are currently three databases either established or in development for recording pupil achievement data at various levels: the National Pupil Database, Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP), and the Diploma Aggregation Service(1) (DAS).
	The Department maintains the National Pupil Database, which contains pupils' test and examination results from key stage test results to GCSE and A-levels. This database, which was created in 2002, is the source of the data published in the Achievement and Attainment Tables.
	The DIUS-led MIAP initiative supports data sharing in the education and training sector for the benefit of learners over 14 years old. One of the services that MIAP delivers is the Learner Record Service, which brings together participation and achievement information already collected, and presents it in an online learner record, which the learner can share with others when they wish. The first versions of the record are being trialled this autumn, and, subject to successful trials, the plan is to enable full access to the learner record in summer 2009.
	The estimated cost of MIAP, including other key services, for the period January 2007 to January 2012 will be £53.6 million.
	(1) The Diploma Aggregation Service is designed and managed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to enable the aggregation and awarding of Diplomas, and became operational on 1 September this year. The total cost of the Diploma Aggregation Service from April 2006 until 31 August 2008 is £18 million.

Schools: Energy

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many buildings of maintained schools use high energy efficiency pumps for  (a) central heating,  (b) air conditioning and  (c) water boosting.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We do not hold information on maintained schools that have installed high energy efficiency pumps for  (a) central heating,  (b) air conditioning or  (c) water boosting.
	Investment in measures of this nature would typically be funded from budgets delegated to schools and local authorities. This information may be held at a local authority or school level. We are doing a great deal with new schools built under our strategic programmes to encourage the use of energy efficient equipment—detailed under
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/carbontargets
	Among other things, we have produced 'top 10 tips' for schools to help them save energy.

Schools: Sports

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of  (a) primary schools and  (b) secondary schools in England offer competitive sports as part of their curriculum.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All schools must provide competitive games activities, as this is a compulsory part of the physical education national curriculum.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to ensure that changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal result in an increase in parental confidence in the special educational needs system; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Subject to parliamentary approval, the new arrangements for tribunals, including the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SENDIST), will begin on 3 November. The Tribunals Service at the Ministry of Justice has consulted on the Rules for the new Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, of which SENDIST will become a part, and the Tribunals Procedures Committee has amended the Rules in the light of consultation responses from those with an interest in SEN. SENDIST has also established a special user group, on which the parent-led Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA) is represented, to advise it on what is practical and appropriate for users in the new arrangements. The overriding principle informing the drafting of the Rules has been that they must be able to deal with all cases justly and fairly.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families, in association with the Tribunals Service, is currently conducting research into parental confidence in the SEN system of school provision, assessment, statements and appeal to SENDIST. This will reflect any parental concerns with the current operation of SENDIST. The Department has also commissioned Brian Lamb, the Chair of the Special Educational Consortium, to lead an inquiry into parental confidence in special educational provision, assessment and appeal. The Lamb Inquiry is due to report in September 2009. IPSEA is also represented on the Inquiry's Expert Advisers Group and through this and the Inquiry's Reference Group it will be able to hear whether the new arrangements for the tribunals are increasing parental confidence. The Department will continue to work closely with the Tribunals Service to address any concerns there are about the effect of the new tribunal arrangements on parental confidence in the SEN system.

Teachers: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value was of public sector pensions for teachers in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year.

Jim Knight: The gross expenditure against the Teachers' Pension Scheme for the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Gross (Cash basis, £ billion) 
			 2002-03 4.205 
			 2003-04 4.428 
			 2004-05 4.747 
			 2005-06 5.099 
			 2006-07 5.471 
		
	
	The value of contributions received for each year are as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Employer contributions  Employee contributions 
			 2002-03 1,423,301 1,066,384 
			 2003-04 2,387,386 1,131,657 
			 2004-05 2,559,263 1,161,826 
			 2005-06 2,679,792 1,205,950 
			 2006-07 2,781,716 1,269,720 
		
	
	The increase in the contribution rate on 1 April 2003 reflected a change in the way the scheme was financed with pensions increase (i.e. the inflation increases in the value of pensions in payment) now reflected in the total contribution rate paid by members and their employers rather than being met separately by the Exchequer.
	The contribution rate for employers and employees during the period 2002-03 to 2006-07 are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Period  Employer rate of charge  Employee rate of charge 
			 1 April 2002 to  31 March 2003 8.35 6 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 December 2006 13.5 6 
			 1 January 2007 to present 14.1 6.4

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 22 August on discrimination by employers against people with mental illness.

Maria Eagle: The issue raised by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire's constituent was one relating to disability. The matter was referred to my right hon. Friend the Member for Sterling (Mrs. McGuire), then Minister responsible for disabled people, for a response. My right hon. Friend responded on the 26 September. I would be happy to provide a copy of this correspondence for the hon. Member at his request.

Prostitution: Human Trafficking

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she has taken pursuant to the Government Equalities Office's report of January 2008, Women Not For Sale.

Maria Eagle: The Minister for Women and Equality commissioned the report Women Not For Sale to highlight how advertisements for personal services fuel demand for women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Since the report was published the Minister for Women commissioned two rounds of questions into attitudes of the general public towards prostitution and visited the Poppy Project to talk to women who have been trafficked into sexual exploitation.
	The Deputy Minister for Women has fed into the Home Office six month review of what more the Government can do to protect those involved in prostitution from exploitation. The review included visits to Sweden and Holland to look at how trafficking is being tackled internationally and will report later this year.
	Further the Government intend to strengthen the response to those involved in sexual exploitation. The Home Secretary recently announced:
	An amendment to the offence of kerb-crawling, removing the need to prove that a person has acted persistently. This will ensure that kerb-crawlers can be prosecuted on a first offence.
	New powers to allow police to close brothels for a period of three months. At the moment, police can only close premises associated with prostitution if antisocial behaviour or Class A drugs are involved.
	Alongside this the Government have decided to give greater powers to local authorities and local communities to control the opening and regulation of lap-dancing clubs. This means lap-dancing clubs would potentially no longer be licensed under the Licensing Act 2003.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House how many citizens' juries her Department has held since 1 July 2007; what the cost was of each; what issues were discussed at each event; and how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) members of the public attended each event.

Chris Bryant: A deliberative forum was held on the draft legislative programme which the Leader of the House of Commons attended on 20 October 2007. This was delivered by IPSOS Mori at a cost of £52,575 and was paid for by the Cabinet Office.
	A total of 76 members of the public attended the event. Participants were asked to complete an exercise prior to the workshop to help get them thinking about the issues. On the day the event comprised of plenary voting sessions, using hand-held devices. Various presentations were given by IPSOS MORI researchers and detailed discussions were carried out within smaller groups.
	During the day participants discussed public priorities for the Government's legislative programme for 2007-08, how people would like to be consulted on the annual legislative programme in the future and how best to consult people on a range of individual bills.

Members: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Leader of the House what the value was of public sector pensions for hon. Members in each of the last five years; and what the cost to the public purse was of providing such pensions in each year.

Chris Bryant: The Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) is a fully funded pension scheme whose income is derived from member contributions, Exchequer contributions and income from assets held.
	Gross pension expenditure of the PCPF for the last five years is shown as follows. It includes pension benefits paid, payments to and on account of leavers, administrative expenses and investment management expenses. The figures for 2007-08 are provisional as the accounts for the year have not been finalised and are subject to change.
	
		
			  Gross pension expenditure 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 12.1 
			 2004-05 12.2 
			 2005-06 19.2 
			 2006-07 16.6 
			 2007-08 15.6 
		
	
	The contributions made to the PCPF by hon. Members from salary, including additional contributions for added years, and by the Exchequer from the House of Commons Members Estimate in each of the last five years are shown as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Employee contribution  Exchequer contribution 
			 2003-04 3.6 9.8 
			 2004-05 4.0 10.0 
			 2005-06 4.1 10.1 
			 2006-07 4.2 11.4 
			 2007-08 4.3 12

NORTHERN IRELAND

Christmas

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Christmas functions  (a) he,  (b) officials from his Department and  (c) officials from its executive agencies (i) hosted and (ii) attended in 2007-08; what the cost to the public purse was; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: I hosted four Christmas receptions attended by over 1,400 representatives from the criminal justice, policing, military, charity and community sectors across Northern Ireland. The total cost was £32,105.41. I also attend external engagements at Christmas time.
	It is not possible to provide details on external Christmas functions that officials from my Department and Executive agencies attended, as this information would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Prison Service uses recruitment consultants to run aptitude tests and assessment centre selection. In other parts of the Department, recruitment consultants are used only when recruitment competitions fail to produce suitable candidates or where executive searches are required to identify suitable applicants. These consultants are selected in line with NIO procurement policy.
	The following tables provide details of fees paid to consultants and advertising costs in the NIO for each of the years requested.
	
		
			  Table (a) (i) NIO core Department—use of consultants 
			   Consultants used  Consultant fees (£) 
			 2003-04 Capita and Penna Consulting 5,483.43 
			 2004-05 Capita and Penna Consulting 12,277.85 
			 2005-06 Parity Recruitment 6,286.25 
			 2006-07 Parity Recruitment, Veredus and Hayes Recruitment 42,037.51 
			 2007-08 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (a) (ii) NIO core Department—recruitment advertising costs 
			   Advertising costs (£) 
			 2003-04 8,063.14 
			 2004-05 182,414.70 
			 2005-06 76,844.74 
			 2006-07 49,105.27 
			 2007-08 23,952.65 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b) (i) NIO Executive agencies—use of consultants 
			   Consultants used  Consultant fees (£) 
			 2003-04 — — 
			 2004-05 Grafton 36,267.98 
			 2005-06 Parity Recruitment and Grafton 52,225.18 
			 2006-07 Parity Recruitment 31,633.71 
			 2007-08 Grafton 70,553.46 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b) (ii) NIO Executive agencies—recruitment advertising costs 
			   Advertising costs (£) 
			 2003-04 120,799.70 
			 2004-05 189,127.91 
			 2005-06 107,886.66 
			 2006-07 189,461.15 
			 2007-08 207,270.82

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day his Department has answered on the due date in the current session of Parliament to date.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office has received 87 named day questions for the current Session (as at 8 October).
	Of these, 40 (46 per cent.) were answered on the due date. Of the 47 questions that were late, 43 (91 per cent.) had a due date that allowed two sitting days or fewer to provide an answer.

Homophobic Crime

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints against the Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of cases of homophobic crime were recorded in each of the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: Dealing with such complaints is the operational responsibility of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. I have asked the Chief Executive to reply to the hon. Member directly, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the  Official Report and the Library of the House.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many cases of sectarianism within the police force were reported within the Northern Ireland Police Service in each of the last 10 years; and how many officers  (a) were found to have been sectarian,  (b) were dismissed as a result and  (c) received disciplinary action as a result in each year;
	(2)  what definition the Police Service of Northern Ireland uses of institutionalised homophobia;
	(3)  what percentage of recruits entering the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last five years completed their full probationary period;
	(4)  what definition of institutionalised sectarianism the Police Service of Northern Ireland uses;
	(5)  what definition of institutionalised racism the Police Service of Northern Ireland uses;
	(6)  how many cases of racism within the Northern Ireland Police Service were reported in each of the last 10 years; and how many officers  (a) were found to have been racist,  (b) were dismissed as a result and  (c) received disciplinary action as a result in each year;
	(7)  what steps the Police Service of Northern Ireland has taken to use social networking sites to encourage reporting of homophobic hate crimes and incidents; and if he will make a statement;
	(8)  what percentage of Northern Ireland police recruits identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in each of the last five years; and what percentage of those recruits completed their full probationary period.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House and the  Official Report.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Ethnic Groups

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland who come from ethnic minorities completed their probationary period in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House and the  Official Report.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Homosexuality

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of homophobia within the Northern Ireland Police Service were reported in each of the last 10 years; and how many officers  (a) were found to have been homophobic,  (b) were dismissed as a result and  (c) received disciplinary action as a result.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House and the  Official Report.

Prosecution Rates

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the prosecution rate was for racist hate crime detected by the Police Service for Northern Ireland in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the prosecution rate was for homophobic hate crime detected by the Police Service for Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This is an operational matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the  Official Report and the Library of the House.

Rape: Telephone Services

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what freephone 24-hour telephone lines exist for victims of rape and sexual assault in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office—in partnership with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive—jointly fund a free phone 24 hour helpline (0800 917 1414) for victims of domestic violence which is managed by Women's Aid Federation.
	A number of other organisations provide a combination of 24 hour telephone and messaging services to other victims of sexual violence. Childline operate a 24 hour free phone service while those provided by the Nexus Institute, Samaritans, Victim Support and out of hours health services incur either low or normal call rates.
	The recently published Northern Ireland Regional Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy, jointly developed by DHSSPS and NIO, contains a commitment to assess the need for a regional 24 hour helpline within the context of proposals to develop the Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Press

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 2 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1003W, 
	(1)  how many copies of PR Week the Cabinet Office subscribes to;
	(2)  how many copies of PR Week are purchased by the Cabinet Office each week.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use his Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Tom Watson: My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has the use of Dorneywood as an official residence. The Chancellor and the Trustees have made Dorneywood available to other Ministers to use for official engagements. Since September 2007, the Commons Chief Whip, the Leader of the House of Lords and Treasury Ministers have made use of Dorneywood for official engagements.

Fertility

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average fertility rate in  (a) Leeds West,  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and  (c) the UK was in each five year period since 1978.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Daren Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding what the average fertility rate in  (a) Leeds West,  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and  (c) the UK was in each five-year period since 1978. (228230)
	The table below provides the average Total Fertility Rate for the UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency for each five-year period, where possible.
	The average Total Fertility Rates are calculated using live births from the birth registration system and population estimates. All figures are based on current geographical boundaries and for Leeds Metropolitan District are available for 1982 onwards. Population estimates by parliamentary constituency are only available from 2001; hence fertility rates for Leeds West are shown for 2001 onwards.
	
		
			  Average total fertility rate for UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency: five-year periods, 1978-2007 
			   Average Total Fertility Rate( 1) 
			   UK  Leeds Metropolitan District  Leeds West( 2 ) (parliamentary constituency) 
			 1978-82 1.82 1.6(3) — 
			 1983-87 1.78 1.72 — 
			 1988-92 1.81 1.75 — 
			 1993-97 1.73 1.60 — 
			 1998-2002 1.66 1.48 1.37(4) 
			 2003-07(5) 1.80 1.54 1.41 
			 (1) The average Total Fertility Rate for each five-year period has been calculated by averaging the Total Fertility Rate for each individual year within the period. (2) The Total Fertility Rates for Leeds West have been calculated using population estimates by parliamentary constituency which have been published as 'Experimental Statistics'. (3) Total Fertility Rate for Leeds Metropolitan District for 1982 only. (4) Average Total Fertility Rate for Leeds West for 2001-2002 only. (5) The 2007 Total Fertility Rates for the UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency are provisional.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Michael Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost was to the Exchequer of all quangos in 2007-08.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the cost and expenditure of non-departmental public bodies is published annually by the Cabinet Office. Information for 2006-07 was published in March and copies are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2007-08 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Unemployment: Fife

Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people living in  (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and  (b) Fife were unemployed in each of the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people living in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife were unemployed in each of the last 12 months. (228017)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles unemployment statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies using the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions, and for Local Authorities using model based estimates.
	The APS and model based estimates are available only for rolling 4 quarter periods. The latest available estimates cover the 12 months ending September 2007 and December 2007 and are provided in Table 1.
	Table 2 attached shows the number of persons claiming Jobseeker's Allowance resident in Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and Fife for each of the last twelve months.
	These figures along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are also published on the Office for National Statistics' Nomis® website: www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons unemployed( 1)  resident in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending:  Dunfermline and West Fife  Fife 
			 September 2007 3 11 
			 December 2007(2) ****2 ***11 
			 (1) Levels of unemployment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. The figures presented are weighted to population estimates published in 2007. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV)(percentage) Statistical robustness * 0 < CV<5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 < CV<10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 < CV<20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.  Source:  Annual Population Survey/Model based estimates. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of persons claiming jobseeker's allowance resident in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife 
			   Dunfermline and West Fife  Fife 
			 October 2007 1,282 5,620 
			 November 2007 1,301 5,613 
			 December 2007 1,318 5,729 
			 January 2008 1,422 6,159 
			 February 2008 1,487 6,386 
			 March 2008 1,459 6,246 
			 April 2008 1,454 6,128 
			 May 2008 1,443 6,104 
			 June 2008 1,488 6,203 
			 July 2008 1,566 6,642 
			 August 2008 1,678 7,044 
			 September 2008 1,587 6,635 
			 Source:  Job Centre Plus Administrative System

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arctic

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international meetings to discuss claims over the Arctic he plans to attend in the next 12 months.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans in this regard. None the less, the UN takes an active interest in many Arctic issues and engages with Arctic states, both bilaterally and in international forums. For example, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attend meetings of the Artic Council at which the UK is a state observer, and will take part in the next meeting in Norway in November.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of claims that Rwandan troops are continuing to operate within the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gillian Merron: At present we are not aware of any evidence that the Rwandan military has entered the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	We continue to monitor events in eastern DRC closely. We encourage the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda to co-operate to resolve threats to regional security.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies spent on entertainment in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to ensuring that all expenditure, including that on entertainment, is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to protecting the health, welfare and productivity of its staff. Our occupational stress policy provides guidance for staff and managers on recognising and dealing with stress and on reducing the causes of stress in the workplace. We provide further support through a team of welfare officers, referral to our occupational health service and access to a 24/7 confidential Employee Assistance programme.
	The average duration for single periods of sickness absence for UK civil servants employed by the FCO and by Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the FCO, where stress or mental health illness has been given as the reason for the absence is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of days 
			  Financial year  FCO  Wilton Park 
			 2005-06 18.2 12.3 
			 2006-07 18.6 29.6 
			 2007-08 26.4 62.5 
		
	
	The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absence before 2005. Nor does it have access to the sickness absence records of non-departmental public bodies. Sickness absence figures for FCO Services, which became a Trading Fund on 1 April 2008, are included in the FCO total.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The average duration for single periods of sickness absence taken by UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the FCO, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of days 
			  Financial year  FCO  Wilton Park 
			 2005-06 4.2 15.5 
			 2006-07 3.3 15.6 
			 2007-08 3.8 15.0 
		
	
	The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absences before 2005. Nor does it have access to the sickness absence records of non-departmental public bodies. Sickness absence figures for FCO Services, which became a Trading Fund on 1 April 2008, are included in the FCO total.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have taken sick days due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of staff of each body this represented in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The following table sets out the number of UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the FCO, who gave stress and mental illness as reasons for sickness absence and the percentage they represent of the total workforce.
	
		
			  Financial year  FCO  Wilton Park 
			  2005-06   
			 Number of staff 137 6 
			 Percentage of workforce 2.3 8.1 
			
			  2006-07   
			 Number of staff 128 10 
			 Percentage of workforce 2.1 13.5 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Number of staff 119 10 
			 Percentage of workforce 2.0 13.5 
		
	
	FCO sickness absence records do not distinguish clearly between mental health and stress-related absences. The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absence before 2005. Nor does it have access to the sickness absence records of non-departmental public bodies.

Departmental Sick Pay

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was paid in sick pay to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility in each of the last five years; what proportion of the annual staffing expenditure of each body this represented in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) pays staff on sick leave their normal salary for up to a maximum of six months' sick absence during any rolling period of 12 months. After that, the FCO pays 50 per cent. of salary for up to a maximum of six months during any rolling period of four years or less. If the absence continues beyond this period, staff cease to receive any salary.
	The following table sets out the total sum paid by the FCO and its Executive Agency, Wilton Park, to UK civil servant employees, who were absent for health reasons, over the past three years.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount paid to staff on sick absence (£)  Percentage of annual staffing costs 
			 2005-06 2,412,781 0.8 
			 2006-07 2,703,879 0.9 
			 2007-08 2,254,954 0.8 
		
	
	The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absence before 2005.

Diplomatic Service: Equality

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK  (a) ambassadors and  (b) high commissioners are (i) female and (ii) from an ethnic minority background.

Gillian Merron: Twenty-two Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff currently serving as Heads of Mission overseas (including ambassadors, high commissioners and governors of British overseas territories) are women. Four Heads of Mission have recorded that they are from an ethnic minority (British minority ethnic).

Diplomatic Service: Security

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests he has received from HM ambassadors for an increase in security staff since 2000; and how many such requests he granted.

Gillian Merron: It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office practice to comment on security at its overseas posts.
	The FCO takes the security of its staff extremely seriously. We maintain a specialist team of overseas security advisers who regularly review all security arrangements.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 651-57W.

Ethiopia: Eritrea

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Ethiopian authorities to accept the final and binding verdict of the International Ethiopian Eritrean Boundary Commission and withdraw its forces from the disputed areas.

Gillian Merron: The UK's policy towards the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute is based on three principles: to avoid any return to war, which would be unacceptable; for the border to be demarcated; and for the parties to normalise their relations. Ethiopia and Eritrea should agree a way forward to allow demarcation to proceed and for a normalisation process to begin, as set out in the Algiers Agreements of June and December 2000, to which both Ethiopia and Eritrea are signatories.
	We have set out this policy to both Ethiopia and Eritrea, including in November 2007 when my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin. The former Minister for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells), most recently discussed the border situation when he met Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in June and the Eritrean ambassador in July. In addition, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials continually reiterate these messages to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean ambassadors to London and to their interlocutors in the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively.
	Even with the termination of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) on 31 July the UNSC made clear the Algiers Agreements remain in force. The UN Secretary-General will continue to monitor the situation and consult both parties in an effort to (1) achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement of their border dispute, and (2) help the countries to normalise their relations.
	We will continue to pursue the policy above with our international partners, including through the efforts of the United Nations with the parties, to which UK efforts are closely aligned and to which we give our support.

Iran: Diplomatic Service

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on commercial relations with Iran of changes in staffing levels in the commercial section of the British Embassy in Tehran.

Bill Rammell: UK policy is to support UN and EU sanctions by making clear to those in the Iranian regime that it cannot be business as usual as long as they fail to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and co-operate fully with the International Atomic Energy Authority. We are prepared to risk any impact the reduction in trade promotion activities may have on British business with Iran in order to maintain pressure on the Iranian regime over its nuclear programme. It is too early to judge the effect that these changes may have on our wider commercial relationship with Iran. We look forward to the day when we can return to business as usual, to the benefit of the UK and Iran. But a decision to reach that state rests with the Iranian regime. It is of note that trade between the UK and Iran fell by 8 per cent. over the first four months of this year.

Kosovo: Natural Resources

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the product of the Gazivoda Reservoir in Kosovo is available without impediment to all communities in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Gazivoda reservoir supplies Northern and Central Kosovo with water for agricultural and industrial use. It also supplies drinking water to the cities of Mitrovica/Mitrovicė, Zvecan/Zveçan, Skėnderaj/Srbica and Vushtrri/Vucitrn among others. Water is available to all communities in the area served by the reservoir without impediment.

Kosovo: Politics and Government

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to assist Kosovo in securing greater recognition of its status by the international community.

Caroline Flint: So far, 51 countries have recognised the Republic of Kosovo including 22 EU member states and all of the G7. We have been engaging actively in both bilateral discussions and multilateral forums, working closely with and alongside the Government of Kosovo, and with like-minded international partners to encourage further recognitions. We have also engaged with the Government of Kosovo to help them take forward their efforts on recognition.

Switzerland: International Cooperation

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made to the Swiss Government by the UK authorities in 1993, consequent on the arrest in Switzerland of Wouter Basson, to persuade the Swiss authorities to make him available to UK authorities for questioning; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no record of any representations having been made.

Uganda: Politics and Government

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received regarding Lieutenant Ramathan Magara of the Uganda Army and the shooting of three people at Dr Kizza Besigye's election rally in February 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: We are aware of various incidents during the 2006 election campaign in which firearms were used to disperse crowds. We have received reports that Lieutenant Ramathan Magara was on remand for 365 days, after which he was released on bail. The case against him is still pending. Investigating incidents such as this is the responsibility of the local authorities.
	In the course of our regular dialogue with the Government of Uganda, we continue to press them on all aspects of good governance, the rule of law and engaging with the opposition.

Western Sahara: United Nations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the re-appointment of Peter van Walsum as UN special representative on the Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: The Government welcomed the efforts made by Peter van Walsum, the former UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, to find a solution to the dispute. The appointment of personal envoys and special representatives is a matter for the UN Secretary-General, and we respect his independence in making such appointments. We look forward to working with the new personal envoy once he/she has been appointed.

Wouter Basson

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will direct the relevant authorities to investigate the claim made by Wouter Basson during his trial in South Africa in July 2000 that he was able to purchase defence software developed in the UK through colleagues at Porton Down; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	I believe that this question relates to a statement made by Dr. Wouter Basson, during the Truth and Reconciliation Council hearings in July 2001, that a colleague was paid to obtain a NATO-approved Hazard Prediction Software, which utilised a data base initially developed at Porton Down. Officials at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down have reviewed the claim and have been unable to identify any evidence to support the allegation that this software was obtained from staff at Porton Down.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Newcastle-under-Lyme

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many apprenticeship places in the construction industry he expects to be offered in  (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and  (b) North Staffordshire in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Si�n Simon: The latest fully audited data that we have are for the 2006-07 academic year. Figures are not directly available for the North Staffordshire. Figures have been provided for the Staffordshire local authority.
	Apprenticeships are demand-led and employer responsive; therefore the number of apprenticeship places available is determined by the number of places employers are able to offer and subject to learner demand. That is why, in terms of monitoring performance, we focus on the number of people who actually start on an apprenticeship programme.
	World-class Apprenticeships confirmed our commitment to stimulate a greater supply of apprenticeship places with employers. This is a key element of the remit of the new National Apprenticeship Service and its National Vacancy Matching Service which will help employers advertise apprenticeship vacancies and enable prospective apprentices to apply for them online.
	Table 1 shows apprenticeship starts for 2006-07 for Staffordshire and Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and nationally.
	Table 2 lists the apprenticeship starts in Staffordshire in 2006-07 by Sector Framework of Learning.
	Table 3 lists the apprenticeship starts in Newcastle-Under-Lyme by Sector Framework of Learning.
	
		
			  Table 1: A pprenticeship starts in 2006/07 by geographical area 
			  Area  Starts 
			 Nationally 184,000 
			 Staffordshire(1) 3,590 
			 Newcastle-Under-Lyme(2) 450 
			 (1) Staffordshire local authority based on learner's home postcode. (2) Newcastle-Under-Lyme parliamentary constituency based on learner's home postcode.  Note: Figures include apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships, and a very small number of higher level apprenticeships.  Source: ILR Work-Based Learning Data 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Apprenticeship starts in 2006/07 in Staffordshire local authority by sector framework of learning 
			  Sector framework of learning  Starts 
			 Accountancy 110 
			 Active Leisure and Learning 60 
			 Agricultural Crops and Livestock 10 
			 Amenity Horticulture 30 
			 Animal Care (1) 
			 Automotive Industry 10 
			 Aviation (1) 
			 Barbering (1) 
			 Building Services Engineering Technicians (1) 
			 Business Administration 340 
			 Children's Care Learning and Development 230 
			 Communications Technologies (Telecoms) 10 
			 Construction 400 
			 Contact Centres 110 
			 Customer Service 330 
			 Dental Nursing 20 
			 Driving Goods Vehicles 10 
			 Electrical and Electronic Servicing (1) 
			 Electricity Industry (1) 
			 Electrotechnical 110 
			 Emergency Fire Service Operations (1) 
			 Engineering 180 
			 Engineering Construction (1) 
			 Equine Industry 20 
			 Farriery (1) 
			 Fencing (1) 
			 Floristry (1) 
			 Food and Drink Manufacturing Operations (1) 
			 Furniture Industry (1) 
			 Gas Industry 20 
			 Glass Industry (1) 
			 Hairdressing 270 
			 Health and Social Care 140 
			 Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration 10 
			 Hospitality and Catering 360 
			 Industrial Applications 40 
			 IT Services and Development 20 
			 IT User 60 
			 Land-based Service Engineering 10 
			 Mail Services (1) 
			 Management 60 
			 Meat and Poultry Processing 10 
			 Optical Advisor (1) 
			 Pharmacy Technicians (1) 
			 Plumbing 100 
			 Polymer Processing and Signmaking (1) 
			 Printing 10 
			 Property Services (1) 
			 Retail 160 
			 Security Industry (1) 
			 Sporting Excellence 10 
			 Storage and Warehousing 40 
			 Teaching Assistants (1) 
			 Textiles (1) 
			 Transport Engineering and Maintenance (1) 
			 Travel and Tourism Services Leisure and Business 30 
			 Trees and Timber (1) 
			 Vehicle Body and Paint Operations 20 
			 Vehicle Fitting 10 
			 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair 160 
			 Vehicle Parts Operations 10 
			 Vehicle Sales (1) 
			 Veterinary Nursing 20 
			 Wholesale, Distribution, Warehousing and Storage 40 
			 Total 3,590 
			 (1) Represents a number less than 10.  Notes: 1. Staffordshire local authority based on learner's home postcode. 2. Figures include apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships, and a very small number of higher level apprenticeships. 3. Figures may not sum to the total due to rounding.  Source: ILR Work-Based Learning Data 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Apprenticeship starts in 2006/07 in Newcastle-Under-Lyme parliamentary constituency by sector framework of learning 
			  Sector framework of learning  Starts 
			 Accountancy 20 
			 Active Leisure and Learning (1) 
			 Agricultural Crops and Livestock (1) 
			 Amenity Horticulture (1) 
			 Animal Care (1) 
			 Automotive Industry (1) 
			 Building Services Engineering Technicians (1) 
			 Business Administration 40 
			 Children's Care Learning and Development 30 
			 Construction 40 
			 Contact Centres 50 
			 Customer Service 50 
			 Dental Nursing (1) 
			 Electrotechnical 10 
			 Engineering 20 
			 Equine Industry (1) 
			 Furniture Industry (1) 
			 Gas Industry (1) 
			 Hairdressing 30 
			 Health and Social Care 10 
			 Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (1) 
			 Hospitality and Catering 30 
			 Industrial Applications 10 
			 IT Services and Development (1) 
			 IT User 20 
			 Management 10 
			 Plumbing 10 
			 Retail 20 
			 Storage and Warehousing (1) 
			 Textiles (1) 
			 Travel and Tourism Services Leisure and Business (1) 
			 Vehicle Body and Paint Operations (1) 
			 Vehicle Fitting (1) 
			 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair 20 
			 Vehicle Parts Operations (1) 
			 Wholesale, Distribution, Warehousing and Storage (1) 
			 Total 450 
			 (1) Represents a number less than 10.  Note: 1. Newcastle-Under-Lyme parliamentary constituency based on learner's home postcode. 2. Figures include apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships, and a very small number of higher level apprenticeships. 3. Figures may not sum to the total due to rounding.  Source: ILR Work-Based Learning Data

Education Maintenance Allowance: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students in West Chelmsford constituency are waiting to receive education maintenance allowance payments.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Educational Institutions: Bank Services

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the financial exposure of further and higher education institutions in terms of deposits and investments in Icelandic banks and financial institutions.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement, 'Universities - Deposits in Icelandic Banks', made by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 14 October. My right hon. Friend told the House that the Higher Education Funding Council for England had identified 12 universities which held deposits with Icelandic banks that have recently entered into administration. The total amount deposited was around 77 million. We will, of course, update the House if there are any significant changes to this figure.
	Officials from HM Treasury are engaging with the affected universities and HEFCE about their concerns. However, it should be noted that HEFCE has concluded that no university is at risk as a result of its exposure to Icelandic banks. Certainly, no university faces a level of exposure that would raise questions about its continuing solvency.
	The Learning and Skills Council has been in contact with further education colleges to ascertain deposit and investment exposure to Icelandic financial institutions.
	Information received to date suggests that two further education colleges have some limited exposure but that there is no immediate impact on the solvency position of further education colleges. The LSC is continuing to keep the situation under review and keeping Ministers informed of the implications.

Higher Education: Admissions

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent on widening participation in higher education in each year since 1997; on what schemes that money has been spent; and how much will be spent in each of the next three years.

David Lammy: This Government remain fully committed to widening access to higher education for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Widening access requires long-term investment and change across the higher education system. We have reformed student finance, reintroducing grants and raising the income threshold at which repayments start. No one is required to pay a contribution to their higher education up-front. These reforms, together with Aimhigher, have been instrumental in bringing about progress. The proportion of UK domiciled, young, full time, first degree entrants to English higher education institutions who were from lower socio-economic groups rose from 27.9 per cent. in 2002-03 to 29.8 per cent. in 2006-07.
	Expenditure from 1997 on widening access is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Aimhigher and predecessors(1,2) 50 70 120 136 102 87 80 85.5 89.5 89.5 
			 Additional HE summer schools1 2 (7) 
			 Regional projects and other early activity(3) 2 3 10 12 5 5 
			 Student support(4) 2,363 2,326 1,761 1,507 1,213 1,096 1,084 1,410 1,411 1,634 1,962 2,252 2,461 2,598 
			 Widening participation allocation(5)   20 31 37 48 266 273 284 345 356 363   
			 University bursaries and outreach(6)  96 (8)
			 Total 2,365 2,329 1,791 1,550 1,295 1,209 1,460 1,819 1,797 2,162 
			 (1) The unified Aimhigher programme was introduced in 2004. Predecessor programmes were Excellence Challenge, funded by the then Department for Education and Skills, and Partnerships for Progression, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Aimhigher is funded jointly by DIUS, HEFCE, the LSC and the Department for Health. Includes money for Aimhigher Associates (3 million in 2008-09, 9 million in 2009-10, and 9 million in 2010-11). (2) Excellence Challenge included Opportunity Bursaries. These were grants to eligible people from lower income families and were worth 2,000 over three years. From September 2001, 26,000 such bursaries were made available at a total cost of 37 million. With the wider reintroduction of grants in 2006, the Opportunity Bursary scheme was withdrawn. (3) Funded by HEFCE. (4) Includes student loans RAB charge, fee loans, student support grants, Maintenance Grant, HE Grant, grants for vulnerable students, tuition fee grants, grants for part-time students and access funds and bursaries. The student loans RAB charge estimates the future cost to Government of subsidising and writing off the student loans issued in that year; it does not represent the amount of cash lent to students, which has risen each year since the introduction of student loans. Figures for 1997-2007 are outturn; those for 2007-08 is estimated outturn; and those for 2008-11 are plans. (5) These figures also include the allocations for improving the retention of non-traditional students, and to widen access and improve provision for disabled students. The figure for 2008-09 is provisional. (6) The Office for Fair Access forecasts that around 300 million annually will be spent by higher education providers on bursaries and scholarships benefiting students from tow-income and other under-represented groups by the academic year 2008-09. (7) Not yet confirmed. (8) Not yet available.  Note: In 2001-04, Aimhigher contributed 10 million a year towards the widening participation allocation. The figure given as the total for each of these years is therefore less than the sum of the parts to avoid double counting.

Higher Education: Admissions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent progress has been made in widening participation in higher education.

David Lammy: This Government are totally committed to widening participation in higher education (HE), both for economic reasons and reasons of social justice. HE offers significant earnings and other benefits to individuals and we want to see a broader range of people to be able and willing to take advantage of these benefits.
	There is convincing evidence that we are making steady progress, for example:
	(a) in the 1997-98 academic year, 81.0 per cent. of young (to age 21) full-time first degree entrants to HE came from state schools. By the 2006-7 academic year, this had
	risen to 87.2 per cent.a rise of 6.2 per cent.;
	(b) in the 2002-3 academic year, 27.9 per cent. of young (to age 21) full-time first degree entrants to HE came from lower socio-economic classes. By the 2006-7 academic year, this had risen to 29.8 per cent.a rise of 1.9 per cent. A different method of identifying social class groupings was in place between 1997-98 and 2001-2, but this showed an increase of 0.8 per cent. over that periodfrom 24.7 per cent. to 25.5 per cent.;
	(c) in the 1997-98 academic year, 11.4 per cent. of young (to age 21) full-time first degree entrants to HE came from low participation neighbourhoods. By the 2005-6 academic year this had risen to 13.5 per cent.a rise of 2.1 per cent. A new way of identifying low participation neighbourhoods was introduced from 2006-7; and
	(d) in the 2002-3 academic year, 44.1 per cent. of 18-20 year olds from higher socio-economic classes participated in HE, compared with 17.5 per cent. of those from lower socio-economic classesa gap of 26.5 per cent. By 2006-7, the participation rate of higher socio-economic classes had fallen to 39.5 per cent and that of lower socio-economic classes had risen to 19.0 per centreducing the gap by six percentage points to 20.5 per cent.
	But we are not complacent, it is clear that issues affecting HE participation patterns require long-term address. We continue to help and encourage a range of people to enter HE through for example
	(a) The Aimhigher programme, to raise the attainment levels of young people and their aspirations towards higher education;
	(b) Aimhigher Associates, announced by the Secretary of State in April, from this autumn a pathfinder will see undergraduates mentoring pupils from Y9 onwards to support them and encourage them through key transition points and into HE, including with the UCAS application process. The scheme will roll out nationally in 2009; and
	(c) the HE recommendations to the National council for Educational Excellenceannounced on 3 October 2008, these recommendations include: Primary schools should ensure older children have the opportunity to visit a university campus. Government support the recommendations and will work with the sector to Implement them.

Small Businesses: Innovation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government has taken to increase the use of innovation in small business.

David Lammy: We are introducing a number of measures aimed at increasing the level of innovation within small business. These include:
	Increased support for business innovation through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) including funding for Knowledge Transfer Partnershipswhich will double in number over the next three yearsand support for UK engagement in the Eurostars scheme for research performing SMEs;
	Refocusing of the Small Business Research Initiative is making good progress. The reformed model will aim to develop hard technologies and innovative products which better meet the future needs of the buyer Departments and, at the same time, drive an increase in demand for R and D services from early-stage, high-technology, SMEs by supporting them through a critical stage of their development and future growth;
	Over the English regions, at least 500 businesses will be given an innovation voucher, as a means for smaller firms to collaborate with knowledge-based institutions, with the aspiration that this will increase to at least 1,000 per year by 2011 as the vouchers are demonstrated to be effective for business;
	The rate of tax relief under the SME R and D tax credits scheme was increased significantly from 1 August to support and incentivise SMEs to undertake more R and D and the scheme was broadened to include companies with between 250 and 449 employees;
	DIUS's grant for research and development, delivered by RDAs, provides support of up to 250,000 to help small and medium-sized businesses to research and develop technologically innovative products and processes and, between January and June 2008, 120 businesses were offered funding of 10 million through the scheme; and
	The FE Specialisation and Innovation Fund will build the capacity of the FE sector to support businesses to raise their innovation potential through knowledge transfer and we are encouraging FE providers to showcase their expertise in implementing innovative business solutions, particularly for SMEs, through a number of pathfinder projects.
	In addition, we have also published a Higher Level Skills Strategy that provides an overall framework for driving up the high level skills that contribute to innovation in business. We are also encouraging more HEIs to develop and offer high level programmes for management and leadership as part of the new management and leadership funding for SMEs under the Train to Gain Plan for Growth.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England: Finance

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant in aid was received by Arts Council England in each year since 1997-98 in 2007-08 prices; and what such grants were, excluding funds for Creative Partnerships.

Barbara Follett: The information requested has been provided by Arts Council England and is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Heads   1997-98  2007-08 
			 Core Advocacy and CommunicationsCommunications 8 49 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsEnquiries  10 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsEvents  1 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsMarketing 2 3 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsMedia Relations 7.5 4.5 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsPublic Affairs 13 2.5 
			  Advocacy and CommunicationsPublishing  2 
			  ArtsCombined Arts 24.5 11.5 
			  ArtsCrafts 12.5 4 
			  ArtsDance 20.5 18 
			  ArtsDrama 24  
			  ArtsFilm, Video and Broadcasting 33 10 
			  ArtsLiterature 22 24.5 
			  ArtsMusic 24 15 
			  ArtsPerforming Arts 31.5 45 
			  ArtsTouring 12.5 0.5 
			  ArtsVisual Arts 40.5 46.5 
			  CEO 34 6 
			  CEOChairman's Office 2  
			  CEORegional ED's Office  19 
			  Policy and Research 7 7 
			  Resource development 49 119 
			  Resource DevelopmentArts and Diversity 2.5 42 
			  Resource DevelopmentBusiness Assessment and Planning 8 8 
			  Resource DevelopmentEducation and Training 19 19 
			  Resource DevelopmentLottery 87.5 14 
			  ResourcesDirectorate 22 9 
			  ResourcesFinance 36 56 
			  ResourcesHR 11 15.5 
			  ResourcesIT 17.5 18 
			  ResourcesLegal Services  3 
			  ResourcesOffice Services 28.5 18.5 
			 Core total  599.5 601 
			 
			 Specific project 2012 Project  3 
			  Arts Award  1 
			  Arts Training South West 3  
			  Artsmark  3 
			  Commissions North  1 
			  Commissions North  2 
			  Contemporary Music Network  3 
			  Creative Industries  4 
			  Creative Partnerships  142 
			  Cultural leadership programme  4 
			  Decibel  9 
			  Own Art  3 
			  Public Art South West 2 2 
			  Schools Arts Projects  1 
			  Take it away  1 
			  Young People at Risk  2 
			  Young People's Theatre  1 
			 Specific project total  5 182 
			 
			 Grand total  604.5 783

BBC: Finance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will reduce the level of public funding paid to the BBC to reflect the fine imposed by Ofcom for misleading audiences by fake phone-ins; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 17 October 2008
	 This is a matter for Ofcom and the BBC.

Broadcasting: Manpower

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in his Department are employed to work on matters relating to broadcasting.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 13 October 2008
	The number of people employed on matters relating to broadcasting varies depending on requirements. As at 14 October 2008, there were 23.6 full-time equivalent staff working on matters related to broadcasting, not including staff carrying out supporting duties.

Circuses

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to include tickets for circuses in his Department's proposed Free Ticket Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Government funding for the free theatre initiative is open to all theatres offering live arts performances, with priority being given to publicly subsidized venues. If a participating theatre offers a circus-type production, this could be included in the offer.
	Arts Council England has been allocated an additional 2.5 million to run the programme on behalf of the Department and has invited venues to submit proposals for inclusion in the programme by 14 November. The initiative will be launched in February 2009 with a week of theatre-based activities and free tickets will be available up to the end of March 2011.
	Our aim is to encourage young people up to the age of 26 to enjoy a free theatre performance and in so doing help build the audiences of the future. This initiative complements our policies on free museums and, more recently, free swimming.

Cultural Heritage: Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 696-97W, on cultural heritage: pay, how much his Department spent on salaries for staff working on heritage in each year since 1997  (a) in 2007-08 prices and  (b) as a percentage of total expenditure on staff salaries by his Department.

Barbara Follett: The table lists the departmental expenditure on salaries of staff responsible for heritage issues such as quality of architectural design and identification and conservation of the historic environment  (a) in 2007-08 prices and  (b) as a percentage of the Department's total staff salaries.
	
		
			  Financial year  Heritage staff salaries in 2007 prices ()  As a percentage of total salaries 
			 2007-08 1,124,157 4.31 
			 2006-07 1,364,310 5.33 
			 2005-06 1,353,348 5.77 
			 2004-05 1,235,931 5.78 
			 2003-04 1,327,530 6.41 
			 2002-03 1,277,922 6.49 
			 2001-02 1,334,472 6.33 
			 2000-01 1,363,659 5.39 
			 1999-2000 1,495,573 6.05 
			 1998-97 1,600,812 6.89 
			 1997-98 1,440,411 10.50

Culture: Planning

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the Cultural Planning Toolkit training to commence.

Barbara Follett: Information from Culture East Midlands is that training will commence after the tools and guidance have been launched at the end of March 2009.

Departmental Income

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's total annual  (a) administrative and  (b) programme income was in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: The Department's administrative and programme income in each year since 1997 is shown in the table. The latter is analysed by the Department's two funding allocation streams, Request for Resources 1 (RfR1) and Request for Resources 2 (RfR2). RfR1 relates to improving the quality of life through cultural and sporting activities, whereas RfR2 refers to broadening access to a rich and varied cultural and sporting life through home broadcasting and other activities.
	
		
			  000 
			   Administrative income  Programme income RfR1  Programme income RfR2 
			 2007-08 1,285 26,237 2,861,902 
			 2006-07 1,520 23,447 2,739,160 
			 2005-06 2,486 32,598 2,624,468 
			 2004-05 2,151 15,349 2,502,111 
			 2003-04 2,231 15,246 2,372,686 
			 2002-03 241 13,308 2,277,941 
			 2001-02 238 12,979 2,171,515 
			 2000-01 278 20,885 2,086,475 
			 1999-2000 257 11,447 2,270,921 
			 1998-99 624 11,776 2,146,416 
			 1997-98 226 10,397 2,010,881

Departmental Public Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on net administration costs in each year since 1997; and what percentage of departmental net operating costs this represented in each year.

Andy Burnham: The Department's actual net administration costs, and these expressed as a percentage of the net operating costs, in each year since 1997 are shown the table.
	
		
			   Net administration cost (000)  Percentage of net operating cost 
			 2007-08 54,426 2.95 
			 2006-07 52,591 3.18 
			 2005-06 46,673 3.21 
			 2004-05 40,452 2.98 
			 2003-04 39,335 2.22 
			 2002-03 36,110 2.98 
			 2001-02 57,709 5.39 
			 2000-01 39,162 4.04 
			 1999-2000 38,825 4.03 
			 1998-99 34,219 3.87 
			 1997-98 20,964 2.50

Departmental Public Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on the  (a) Sporting and  (b) Cultural Champions initiatives in each of the last three years; and what assessment he has made of the performance of each scheme against its objectives.

Andy Burnham: Information from Sport England is that it has spent 300,000 on the Sporting Champions programme in each of the last three years (2005-08). In total this has supported 1,350 visits and more than 97 per cent. of visit organisers have rated the work of the Sporting Champion as either excellent or good. The programme has helped to inspire and motivate more than 100,000 children and young people each year.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not fund a Cultural Champions programme, but it does fund a mentoring programme, which uses mentors from sport, music and the media to help young people at risk of social exclusion to engage in positive activities and make positive life choices. The DCMS has allocated 1 million per year to this programme since it was established in 2006-07.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many citizens' juries his Department has held since 1 July 2007; what the cost was of each; what issues were discussed at each event; and how many  (a) Ministers and  (b) members of the public attended each event.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has held no citizen's juries since 1 July 2007.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agency and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24 hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our stress at work policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a Stress Audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absencefollowed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.
	
		
			  Table 1: Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			  1 April to 31 March each year  Average duration of single periods of sick leave (days) 
			 2003-04 9.91 
			 2004-05 7.83 
			 2005-06 10.01 
			 2006-07 7.88 
			 2007-08 11.03 
			  Note: This table shows the results for DCMS only. DCMS only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The Royal Parks Agency 
			  1 April to 31 March each year  Average duration of single periods of sick leave (days) 
			 2003-04 40.8 
			 2004-05 10.0 
			 2005-06 7.1 
			 2006-07 3.7 
			 2007-08 3.9 
			  Note: This table shows the results for the Royal Parks AgencyDCMS's Executive agency only. The Royal Parks Agency only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	The information in relation to the non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agency and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24 hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our stress at work policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a Stress Audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absencefollowed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.
	
		
			  Table 1: Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			   Average duration of single periods of sick leave (days) 
			  Tax year  Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			 2003-04 25 118 
			 2004-05 0 201 
			 2005-06 16 3 
			 2006-07 45 0 
			 2007-08 159 22 
			  Note: This table shows the results for DCMS only. DCMS only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The Royal Parks Agency 
			   Average duration of single periods of sick leave (days) 
			  Financial year  Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			 2003-04 165 44 
			 2004-05 44 81 
			 2005-06 81 21 
			 2006-07 6 19 
			 2007-08 9 0 
			  Note: This table shows the results for the Royal Parks AgencyDCMS's Executive agency only. The Royal Parks Agency only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	The information in relation to the non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Sick Leave

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many sick days were taken by employees in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agency and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what proportion of sick days taken in each body this figure represented in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24 hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our stress at work policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a Stress Audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absencefollowed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.
	
		
			  Table 1: Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			   Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			  Tax year  Number of sick days  Proportion of sick days (percentage)  Number of sick days  Proportion of sick days (percentage) 
			 2003-04 145 4.4 606 18.6 
			 2004-05 120 3.3 438 12.0 
			 2005-06 333 10.5 153 4.8 
			 2006-07 460 13.0 496 14.0 
			 2007-08 721 30.4 22 0.9 
			  Note: Table 1 shows the results for DCMS only. DCMS only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The Royal Parks Agency 
			   Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			  Financial year  Number of sick days  Proportion of sick days (percentage)  Number of sick days  Proportion of sick days (percentage) 
			 2003-04 165 9.0 44 2.0 
			 2004-05 44 2.0 81 3.0 
			 2005-06 81 6.0 21 2.0 
			 2006-07 6 1.0 19 4.0 
			 2007-08 9 2.0 0 0.0 
			  Note: Table 2 shows the results for The Royal Parks AgencyDCMS's Executive Agency only. The Royal Parks Agency only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	The information in relation to the non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Sick Pay

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agency and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have received sick pay for sick leave due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what the average length of time was for which sick pay was paid in these cases; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the work place including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24-hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our stress at work policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a Stress Audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absencefollowed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sick leavestress and mental health and behavioural disorders, Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			   Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			  Tax Year  Number  of staff  Average days  Number  of staff  Average days 
			 2003-04 7 21 6 101 
			 2004-05 5 24 5 88 
			 2005-06 8 24 5 31 
			 2006-07 8 60 2 22 
			 2007-08 6 120 2 11 
			  Note:  Shows the results for DCMS only. DCMS holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003 only. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Sick leavestress and mental health and behavioural disorders, The Royal Parks Agency 
			   Stress  Mental and behavioural 
			  Financial Year  Number  of staff  Average days  Number  of staff  Average days 
			 2003-04 6 165 1 44 
			 2004-05 11 44 8 81 
			 2005-06 3 8T 2 21 
			 2006-07 3 6 2 19 
			 2007-08 2 9 0 0 
			  Note:  Shows the results for The Royal Parks AgencyDCMS's Executive agency only. The Royal Parks Agency holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003 only. 
		
	
	The information in relation to the non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Sick Pay

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was paid in sick pay to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agency and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility in each of the last five years; what proportion of the annual staffing expenditure of each body this figure represented in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24 hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our stress at work policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a Stress Audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absencefollowed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.
	The information provided shows the salary costs and excludes employers' pension and national insurance contributions. These and other related information could only be provided at disproportionate costs.
	
		
			  1 April to 31 March each year  Salary costs ()  Proportion of annual staffing expenditure (percentage) 
			 2003-04 211,790 1.14 
			 2004-05 200,950 1.01 
			 2005-06 248,664 1.12 
			 2006-07 209,167 0.84 
			 2007-08 153,639 0.59 
			  Note: Table 1 shows the results for DCMS only. DCMS only holds sickness absence data dating back to 2003. 
		
	
	Although we requested the information from The Royal Parks AgencyDCMS's Executive Agency, we were not provided with an answer.
	The information in relation to the non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Football: Betting

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Football Association in respect of recent allegations of match-fixing and unusual betting activity on a Football League Championship match.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Football Association on allegations of match-fixing and unusual betting activity involving the Norwich City versus Derby County Football League Championship match on 4 October.

Andy Burnham: I have not had any discussions with the Football Association (FA) in respect of the recent allegations of match fixing and unusual betting activity on the Norwich City versus Derby County Football League Championship match on 4 October.
	The Government take any allegations relating to the integrity of sport seriously. The Gambling Act 2005 introduced tough new penalties to keep gambling free from crime and corruption. In particular it brought in the offence of cheating at gambling where any person found guilty faces a maximum prison sentence of two years.
	I am aware that the allegations have been reported to the FA and the Gambling Commission.
	The FA is investigating whether there is any substance to the allegations and the Gambling Commission is supporting the FA in its inquiries. It would not be appropriate to comment further on any case that may result in prosecution.

Museums and Galleries: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much unallocated grant in aid there is for museums and galleries in his Department's budget.

Barbara Follett: The Department has no unallocated grant in aid for its sponsored museums and galleries.

Public Service Broadcasting

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to review the fulfilment by broadcasters of their public service obligations.

Andy Burnham: The Government have no such plans. Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom has a statutory responsibility to carry out periodic reviews of the fulfilment of the public service remit; the second such review is currently in progress. Responsibility for ensuring that individual broadcasters comply with their public service obligations rests with Ofcom for the commercial public service broadcasters, with the BBC Trust for the BBC and with the S4C Authority for S4C.

Swimming: Concessions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many additional free or discounted swimming lessons will be provided as a result of the additional Government funding for swimming.

Andy Burnham: Initiatives such as swimming lessons will be funded from the overall funding package.
	Government are currently working with stakeholders including the Amateur Swimming Association and Sport England on the detailed design and delivery arrangements for such initiatives.

Swimming: Concessions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings have taken place with the Swimming Teachers' Association to discuss the Government's free swimming proposals.

Andy Burnham: Government designed the Free Swimming Programme in close consultation with a range of stakeholders including the Local Government Association, the Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers' Association, the Amateur Swimming Association (as the governing body for swimming) and Sport England.
	No meetings have taken place with the Swimming Teachers' Association to discuss the programme.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Casualties

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) reports and  (b) complaints his Department has received of civilian deaths due to aeroplane attacks by NATO forces in Afghanistan in the last 12 months; what the (i) date, (ii) location and (iii) alleged resulting number of civilian deaths of each such attack were; what response his Department has made to each (A) report and (B) complaint; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The Ministry of Defence does not collate data relating to reports or complaints of civilian casualties where these do not relate to incidents allegedly caused by UK forces. Any such reports are passed to the NATO chain of command or the respective national authorities for investigation.
	Over the last 12 months, my Department has received formal notification of two occasions on which UK aircraft were involved in incidents in which civilian casualties are believed to have occurred. One occurred in March 2008 and the second in September 2008. In both cases, the incidents were subjected to a thorough and detailed investigation. There is no reason to believe that UK forces behaved inappropriately in either incident. We do not collate or publish figures for civilian casualties in Afghanistan because of the immense difficulty and risks of collecting robust data.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for conflict resolution in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Afghanistan continues to present significant security challenges, particularly in the south and east of the country where the Taliban continue to use intimidation and violence against the local population. Key to our strategy is ensuring there are political-led solutions in Afghanistan as the insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone. There are no quick solutions, but we continue to support the Government of Afghanistan's efforts to bring disaffected Afghans into society's mainstream.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what types of helicopter are deployed in Afghanistan undertaking  (a) combat support roles and  (b) medical evacuation roles; and how many of each type are deployed.

John Hutton: ISAF helicopter support is provided from a multinational pool. The UK has provided Chinook, Sea King and Lynx helicopters in Afghanistan to undertake combat support roles and has also deployed Apache attack helicopters. The UK also makes use of a range of civilian helicopters through a NATO contract. While any helicopter could in extremis be used to support medical evacuation, Chinook and Sea King helicopters are primarily tasked for this specific purpose.
	I am withholding the numbers of helicopters deployed as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which  (a) reconstruction and  (b) aid projects British armed forces are participating in Afghanistan.

John Hutton: British troops are not routinely engaged in the distribution of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. However, they do run or participate in a wide range of reconstruction projects, for details of which I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my ministerial colleague, the right hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth), on 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1438W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).

Aircraft Carriers

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the most recent time projection is for the completion and commissioning of the two new aircraft carriers.

Quentin Davies: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, Baroness Taylor of Bolton to the noble Lord, Lord Astor of Hever in another place on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column WA103.

Apache Helicopters: Crew

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to increase levels of the recruitment, training and retention of Apache helicopter crews.

Bob Ainsworth: holding  answer  16 October 2008
	The Army Air Corps is currently in a very strong position with regard to manning. It continues to attract high quality volunteers for flying training from across the Army, including sufficient candidates for Attack Helicopter training. There are no plans to initiate recruitment activities beyond those measures currently in place.
	The training our Attack Helicopter (AH) crews receive is world class. It takes a full year to make AH pilots ready for deployment on combat operations. The training schedule includes a pre-deployment training exercise to Arizona to experience 'hot and high' conditions and culminates in a mission rehearsal exercise alongside the deploying formation. In the Afghan theatre, force levels and the capabilities required are regularly reviewed and AH training is constantly scrutinised to ensure it is fit for purpose.
	Retention of AH crews is currently being examined, as part of work recently commissioned by the Joint Helicopter Command. We are, however, confident that the operational commitments of the AH force are sustainable. The Apache continues to provide a battle winning capability in Afghanistan and we have increased the flying hours available to commanders on the ground by 15 per cent. since October 2006. We aim to increase flying hours by a further 25 per cent. by early next year, by deploying additional helicopters, and we are building the logistic support required in terms of spare parts and personnel, particularly engineering manpower, to enable this.

Armed Forces: Blood

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will use pathogen inactivation for blood products to be supplied for UK forces personnel.

Kevan Jones: Pathogen inactivation (PI) is a process designed to eliminate pathogensi.e. viruses, bacteria and fungifrom water, air or donated blood. The majority of the blood held in-theatre by the Defence Medical Services (DMS) is supplied by the UK National Blood Services (NBS), which does not routinely carry out PI on its blood products. However, we understand that the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO, an independent non-departmental public body) will be undertaking a comprehensive review of pathogen inactivation for blood products in 2009, which will inform decisions on its use in the UK. It would not be practical for the DMS to introduce its own discrete in-theatre PI capability, in view of the complexity of the current technology and the infrequency with which it would be required.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) regular and  (b) Territorial Army (i) officers and (ii) personnel of other ranks have been mobilised for service overseas within six months of completing their basic training in each year since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: Officials are collating the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member when the work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) armed forces personnel and  (b) civilians from his Department wounded in operations have contracted (i) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and (ii) Clostridium difficile while being treated at (A) Headley Court, (B) Selly Oak and (C) other medical facilities in the United Kingdom since 2002.

Kevan Jones: The data available in respect of the Birmingham group of hospitals (Selly Oak, Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, City and Royal Orthopaedic), which have been collated in consultation with the relevant NHS authorities, relate to military in-patients returning from service in Afghanistan or Iraq over the period January 2003 to January 2008. Over that period, available records show that only one patient is known to have become infected with methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus Bacteraemia while being treated in a Birmingham hospital; 12 patients were infected with Clostridium difficile (including one patient diagnosed twice within a six-week period). All of the patients concerned were members of the armed forces; none was an MOD civilian.
	Over the period since 2002 we have no reports of a patient under treatment at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court contracting an infection from either MRSA Bacteraemia or Clostridium difficile during their stay there.
	No comparable statistics are readily available in respect of other medical facilities at which armed forces and MOD civilians have been treated. To compile them would involve a trawl of the medical records of all the relevant patient population and subsequent consultation with the microbiology departments of the NHS trusts concerned. This could be done only at disproportionate cost, and with the permission of each individual patient.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required,  (b) actual and  (c) fit for task strength is of each pinch point trade in the Armed Forces.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table shows the liability, strength and shortfalls, in real numbers and percentage figures, from the single-Service Quarter 1 (June 2008) Pinch Point Registers. The 'Fit for Task' strengths are not routinely recorded and the cost of doing so in this instance would be disproportionably high for the Department.
	
		
			 Shortfall 
			   Liability  Strength  Number  Percentage 
			  Royal Navy 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 Lt X SM Advanced Warfare Course Qualified 75 68 7 8 
			 RN Harrier GR7 Instructors 7 3 4 57 
			 GR7 Harrier PilotsLt 35 18 17 48 
			 Merlin Pilots 112 68 44 39 
			 Merlin Observers 116 63 53 46 
			 Merlin Aircrewmen 102 80 22 22 
			 Leading Seaman General Warfare 1,108 649 459 41 
			 Strategic Weapons Systems Junior Ranks 110 84 26 24 
			 Able Rate Warfare Specialist (Sensors Submariner) 173 134 39 22 
			 Able Rate Warfare Specialist (Tactical Submariner) 121 96 25 21 
			 Able Rate Diver 136 95 41 30 
			 Able Rate 1 Seaman 351 297 54 15 
			 Able Rate 1 Warfare Specialist 754 673 181 24 
			 Able Rate 1 Communications and Information Systems 375 327 48 13 
			 Leading Aircraft Controllers 75 42 33 44 
			 Royal Marines Other Ranks 6,525 6,003 522 8 
			 Sea-King and Lynx Avionics Supervisors 348 284 64 18 
			 Cat A Nuclear Watchkeepers 217 164 53 24 
			 Petty Officer Mine Warfare 56 41 15 27 
			 Cat B Nuclear Watchkeepers 417 340 77 18 
			  
			  Army 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 Infantryman Pte-LCpl 14,615 12,968 1,647 11 
			 REME Vehicle Mechanic Pte-Cpl 3,625 3,132 493 14 
			 REME Armourer Pte-Cpl 397 317 80 20 
			 REME Recovery Mechanic LCpl-Cpl 344 216 128 37 
			 Intelligence OperatorMilitary Intelligence Cpl-Sgt 690 462 228 33 
			 RE Clerk of Works SSgt-WOl 245 246 +1 -0.4 
			 REE OD Cpl-Sgt 222 95 127 57 
			 RA Gunner LBdr-Bdr 5,048 4,330 718 14 
			 RLC Ammo Tech Cpl-SSgt 285 157 128 45 
			  
			  Army 
			  Manning Pinch Point Trades 
			 AMS ITU Nurse Cpl-Capt 121 35 86 71 
			 AMS Emergency Medicine Nurse Cpl-Capt 101 38 63 62 
			 AMS Radiologist Maj 4 1 3 75 
			 AMS Orthopaedic Surg Maj+ 13 7 6 46 
			 AMS Gen Surg Maj+ 17 10 7 41 
			 AMS Anaesthetist Maj+ 49 26 23 53 
			 AMS Gen Med Prac Capt+ 153 137 16 10 
			 AMS Radiographer Cpl+ 24 10 14 58 
			 AMS Registered General Nurse 293 263 30 10 
			 AMS Operation Department Practitioner Cpl+ 95 82 13 14 
			 RA Unmanned Ariel Vehicle Operator (Level 4) LBdr-Bdr 280 237 43 15 
			 RE Mil Engr Geo Spr-WO2 332 292 40 12 
			 RE Mil Engr C3S Spr-LCpl 704 593 111 16 
			 RLC Postal and Courier Op Pte-Cpl 433 350 83 19 
			 RLC Chef Pte-LCpl 1,459 1,366 93 6 
			 RSigs IS Engr Cpl-Sgt 237 202 35 15 
			 AGC(SPS) Mil Admin Pte-Sgt 2,610 2,302 308 12 
			 CAMUS Musician 300 231 69 23 
			 RE ME Fitter Spr-LCpl 549 395 154 28 
			  
			  Royal Air Force 
			  Operational Pinch Point Trades 
			 Medical 274 218 56 20 
			 Pilot (Junior Officer) 1,500 1,284 216 14 
			 Flying Branch(Career Stream) (Senior Officer) 725 685 40 5 
			 Operations Support (Intelligence) 230 230 0 0 
			 Operations Support (Regiment) 263 241 22 8 
			 Operations Support (Flight Operations) 212 202 10 5 
			 Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service 177 132 45 25 
			 Weapons System Operator (Air Load Master) 541 453 88 16 
			 Weapons System Operator (Linguist) 66 50 16 24 
			 Air Traffic Controller (ATC) / Flight Operations Manager (FOM)/Flight Operations Assistant (FOA) 1,257 1,213 44 3 
			 Firefighter 545 480 65 12 
			 Gunner 1,792 1,596 196 11 
			 Movements Operator/Controller 866 850 16 2 
			 Military Transport Technician 330 121 19 5 
			  
			  
			  Royal Air Force 
			  Manning Pinch Point Trades 
			 Administration (Training) 228 205 23 10 
			 Chaplains 78 64 14 18 
			 Medical Support 90 78 12 13 
			 Operations Support (Fighter Control) 341 295 46 13 
			 Operations Support (Air Traffic Control) 424 375 49 12 
			 Dental 68 61 7 10 
			 Intelligence Analyst (Communications) 282 229 53 19 
			 Intelligence Analyst (Imagery) 404 361 43 11 
			 Environmental Health Technician 47 37 10 21 
			 Radiographer 11 10 1 9 
			 Mess Manager/Steward 491 445 46 9 
			 Musician 172 153 19 11 
			 Royal Air Force Physical Training Instructor (PTI) 509 480 29 6 
			 SEFitt 614 589 25 4 
			 Staff Nurse (RMN) 30 25 5 17 
			 Lab Tech 15 10 5 33 
			 Med Asst/Admin 587 611 +24 +4 
			 DentHyg 21 18 3 14 
			 Dent Admin/Nurse 134 123 11 8 
			 Pers Admin 1,494 1,432 62 4 
			 Supplier 1,838 1,841 +3 +0.2 
			 MTD 1,111 1,021 90 8 
			  Note: All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen and women were recruited to  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in 2007-08; and how many left each service in the same period.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of UK regular forces servicemen and women recruited to and leaving  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in 2007-08 can be found in tables 3 and 4 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1UK Regular Forces Strengths and Changes. TSP 1 is published monthly and the most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 September 2008 and financial year 2007-08 figures. September 2008 TSP 1 can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48thiscontent=30date=2008-10-14pubType= 1PublishTime=09:30:00from=hometabOption=1.
	Copies of TSP 1 are also available in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the co-operation between schools and armed forces recruitment centres; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Co-operation between armed forces recruitment staffs and local schools remains at a high level. Armed forces presentation teams and careers advisers visit about 1,000 state and public schools across the UK each year, but only at the specific invitation of the schools/colleges themselves. Their aims are to raise the students' awareness of the armed forces in a democratic society, support schools' careers programmes, facilitate participative learning exercises with students, and offer advice on service careers. The teams do not go into schools to recruit.
	We are proud of the work the single-service presentation teams do with schools and colleges to inform young people about the tremendous work undertaken and careers on offer in the armed forces and which can provide fantastic opportunities to a wide range of people from all sectors of society. Young people should be shown all available career options; the more information they receive about life in the Armed Forces, covering all points good and bad, the better informed they will be.

Armed Forces: Training

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account his Department has taken in its formulation of policy on training of the summing-up remarks of Mr. Justice Royce of Winchester Crown Court before the acquittal of Provost Sergeant Russell Price, Sergeant Paul Blake and Corporal John Edwards on 31 July 2008.

Bob Ainsworth: Immediately following Mr. Justice Royce's summing-up remarks, amendments were made to the Adjutant General's Administrative Instructions 67 (AGAI 67) Part Two (Minor Action) and this amendment has also been incorporated into Joint Service Publication 833 (Minor Administrative Action). The amendments relate to the award of a minor sanction. Any person awarding a minor sanction must now give the individual supervising the sanction written details of the sanction.
	Other aspects of the summing-up remarks will be investigated as part of either the ongoing investigation currently being conducted by the royal military police or by the subsequent Army Board of Inquiry. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) AS90s and  (b) L118s are (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service.

Quentin Davies: The figures requested are as follows.
	
		
			   Percentage of total holdings in  service  Percentage of in service holding fit for purpose  Percentage of total holdings out of service 
			 AS90 100 97 0 
			 L118 100 100 0 
		
	
	There are 20 L118 (light gun) guns in service that are used for saluting and ceremonial roles. These are not capable of firing live rounds but for the purposes of answering this question they are counted as fit for purpose.
	In answering this question the following definitions have been used:
	In service: Total numbers excluding those which are out of service or awaiting receipt inspections and registration.
	Out of service: Equipments past their out of service date and/or awaiting disposal.
	Fit for purpose: Equipments which are capable of being used in whatever capacity they are currently required for.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) light machine guns,  (b) general purpose machine guns and  (c) heavy machine guns are (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service.

Quentin Davies: The figures requested are as follows.
	
		
			   Percentage of total holdings in service  Percentage of in service holdings fit for purpose  Percentage of total holdings out of service 
			 Light machine gun 100 96 0 
			 General purpose machine gun 100 85 0 
			 Heavy machine gun 100 94 0 
		
	
	In answering the question the following definitions have been used.
	In service: Total numbers held excluding out of service numbers.
	Out of service: Equipments past their out of service date and/or awaiting disposal.
	Fit for purpose: Equipments which are capable of being used in whatever capacity they are currently required for.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) Scimitar and  (b) Spartans are (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service.

Quentin Davies: The figures requested are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Vehicle  Total fleet in-service  In-service fleet fit for purpose  Total fleet out-of-service 
			 Scimitar 100 89 0 
			 Spartan 100 90 0 
		
	
	In answering this question the following definitions have been used:
	In-serviceTotal fleet numbers excluding out-of-service numbers.
	Out-of-serviceVehicles past their out of service date and/or awaiting disposal.
	Fit for PurposeVehicles which are capable of being used in whatever capacity they are currently required for.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current  (a) in-service date and  (b) cost of the Future Rapid Effects System is.

Quentin Davies: The Future Rapid Effect System programme is currently in its assessment phase. The in-service date and the cost of the programme will not be fixed until the main investment decision has been taken.

Army: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required,  (b) actual and  (c) fit for task strength of each battalion of the infantry is.

Bob Ainsworth: The figures requested are shown in the following tables.
	The figures in both tables include personnel filling all roles within each battalion, not just infantrymen. Fit for task has been defined as fully deployable, and thus excludes those who may be fit to perform rear party duty.
	This answer differs to the one I gave to the hon. Member on 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1091W, primarily because the figures also take account of personnel listed as being of limited deployability or non-deployable for non-medical reasons.
	
		
			  Div  Unit  Required strength  Actual strength  Fit for task strength 
			 Guards 1 Grenadier Guards 580 491 410 
			  1 Coldstream Gds 627 563 491 
			  1 Scots Guards 760 595 485 
			  1 Irish Guards 636 570 419 
			  1 Welsh Guards 631 588 515 
			  
			 Scots 1 Scots 633 628 507 
			  2 Scots 566 449 405 
			  3 Scots 535 470 348 
			  4 Scots 760 642 448 
			  5 Scots 654 560 448 
			  
			 Queens 1 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 760 658 549 
			  2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 625 538 478 
			  1 Royal Regt Fusiliers 753 649 580 
			  2 Royal Regt Fusiliers 623 530 457 
			  1 Royal Anglian 670 691 518 
			  2 Royal Anglian 627 629 511 
			  
			 Kings 1 Lancs 741 666 566 
			  2 Lancs 664 737 669 
			  1 Yorks 633 541 505 
			  2 Yorks 627 501 423 
			  3 Yorks 684 547 421 
			  
			 PoW 1 Mercian 627 513 417 
			  2 Mercian 620 555 477 
			  3 Mercian 690 564 402 
			  1 Royal Welsh 625 545 453 
			  2 Royal Welsh 756 647 475 
			  
			 Rifles 2 Rifles 615 584 484 
			  3 Rifles 625 602 556 
			  4 Rifles 702 684 528 
			  5 Rifles 760 700 553 
			  
			 RI 1 Royal Irish 654 516 414 
			  
			 Para 2 Para 654 646 585 
			  3 Para 654 607 566 
			  
			 RGR 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles 643 759 586 
			  2 Royal Gurkha Rifles 822 913 831 
		
	
	In addition to the battalions shown above there are three incremental Guards companies which are primarily for public duties but which can also be used to augment the other Guards battalions as required;
	
		
			  Unit  Required strength  Actual strength  Fit for task strength 
			 N Coy Grenadier Gds 108 111 93 
			 7 Coy Coldstream Gds 108 105 90 
			 F Coy Scots Guards 108 127 107

Campaign Against the Arms Trade

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times officials from his Department have met representatives from the Campaign Against Arms Trade since September 2006; what the title was of each departmental official attending; what the date was of each meeting; and what the length was of each meeting.

John Hutton: We have no record of any meetings between officials of this Department and representatives from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) since September 2006. Previously, the then Head of Defence Export Services met representatives from CAAT on 30 August 2005. The meeting lasted around half an hour.
	Responsibility for Government support to defence exports was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) on 1 April this year. I understand that the Head of UKTI Defence and Security Organisation has agreed recently to meet CAAT representatives in the near future.

China: Armed Forces

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration was given by officials in his Department to the terms of the Madrid Declaration 1989 when agreeing to  (a) its bilateral programme with China and  (b) the attendance of Chinese cadets at Sandhurst.

Bob Ainsworth: I set out the basis of the MOD's bilateral programme with the Chinese People's Liberation Army in my answer to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 2250-51W. Since the Madrid Declaration of 1989, our bilateral relationship with China has developed considerably. As with other EU partners, most of the measures adopted then, such as suspension of bilateral ministerial and high-level contacts have long since fallen into disuse. The arms embargo, however, remains in place.

China: Armed Forces

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from his US counterpart on  (a) his Department's Chinese bilateral programme and  (b) the training of Chinese military personnel in the UK.

Bob Ainsworth: We have received no such representations.

Departmental Marketing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of Government-commissioned advertising in the last 12 months relating to matters falling within the remit of his Department.

Kevan Jones: The armed forces and MOD civilian recruiting organisations employ a wide range of measures to ascertain the effectiveness of their recruitment advertising campaigns. For example, the MOD uses regular independent pre and post-advertising tracking research which explores the attitudes and behaviour of the target audience towards the campaigns, and the awareness of each burst of advertising to inform what percentage of the target audience has been reached. These are then set against advertising expenditure to assess the cost effectiveness of the various media channels and tools used compared with each other, across government and with industry averages.
	The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) undertakes two modest regional awareness campaigns each year to raise awareness of its services to veterans. As part of a wider campaign evaluation, a coupon is attached to each advertisement that readers can return. For the last two campaigns 19 and 101 coupons were returned respectively. Small 'feature' entries for SPVA are also included in all British Telecom phone books, but no realistic assessment is possible of these entries. In addition, a small number of ad-hoc advertising opportunities are exploited throughout the year in ex-service and commemorative magazines. These are low value and are not formally evaluated.
	The Department also works closely with the Central Office of Information to develop a system which will provide clarity on the value for money of advertising campaigns in the future.

Departmental Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what total cost.

Kevan Jones: The number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to members of the senior civil service (SCS), to fixed term appointees and to civil servants below the level of the SCS covered by the MOD main pay deal (excluding trading funds and agencies), relating to performance in Financial Year 2007-08 and paid in FY 2008-09 to end September 2008, are listed in the tables one to three. The Ministry of Defence also awards special bonuses to individuals and teams for exceptional performance in a specific task or for the achievement of professional qualifications which benefit MOD and the individual; these are shown in table four as payments to date.
	
		
			  Table 1: Bonuses paid to senior civil servants 
			   2008-09 
			 Number of bonuses paid 187 
			 Value of bonuses paid ( million) 1.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Bonuses paid to senior fixed term appointees 
			   2008-09 
			 Number of bonuses paid (1)18 
			 Value of bonuses paid () 454,539 
			 (1) There are eight outstanding bonus payments still to be agreed. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: End-of-year bonuses paid to staff below the level of the SCS( 1) 
			   2008-09 
			 Number of bonuses paid 60,137 
			 Value of bonuses paid () 40,196,000 
			 (1) Excluding MOD trading fund agencies. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Special bonuses( 1) 
			   2008-09( 2) 
			 Number of staff who received bonus(es) 10,358 
			 Value of bonuses paid () 4,284,000 
			 (1) Excluding MOD trading fund agencies.  (2) To end of September 2008.

Energy: Research

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been carried out by his Department into the kinetic energy of hypersonic mass over the last five years.

Quentin Davies: Over the past five years the MOD has commissioned research into the electromagnetic launch of kinetic energy projectiles to achieve hypersonic velocities. This research ended in 2005 as it was determined that the technology did not offer cost effective alternatives to current capabilities.
	The Department now maintains an awareness of electromagnetic launch and hypersonic projectiles technologies, and a capability to model KE projectile/target interactions as set out in the Defence Technology Strategy, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether combat simulation studies have been carried out to analyse the capabilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter against those of other aircraft, including the Sukhoi SU 27/35 series.

Quentin Davies: The UK has undertaken combat simulations with a variety of aircraft but due to the high classification of these simulations, I am withholding the details of this information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Merlin Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) in-service and  (b) operational delivery dates are of each of the six Merlin helicopters procured from Denmark.

Quentin Davies: The Merlin helicopters acquired from Denmark are known as Merlin Mk3a, when converted.
	The first Merlin Mk3a was delivered to 78 Squadron on 22 January 2008 and the second on 31 January. The initial Release to Service (flight clearance) was signed on 21 January this year. Since then, aircraft have been incrementally modified to keep a maximum number available to the forward fleet. An Initial Operating Capability (IOC) was agreed by Joint Helicopter Command on 31 March for two aircraft. By 30 July, five aircraft had been delivered to RAF Benson for tasking. The sixth helicopter will be returned to RAF Benson next month, following completion of specialist communications testing which is normal for a new class of aircraft.

Meteorological Office: Finance

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government have provided by way of grants or subsidies to  (a) the Met Office and  (b) the Met Office Hadley Centre in each financial year since 1998.

Kevan Jones: The Government have provided no grants or subsidies to the Met Office. The Met Office is a trading fund within the MOD and, as such, is paid by its customers, both government and commercial, to provide a range of weather and climate related services. In the last 10 years, the Met Office has received the following revenue from government customers:
	
		
			  000 
			   Government  O f which: Hadley Centre 
			 2007-08 131,092 20,983 
			 2006-07 125,909 18,764 
			 2005-06 124,317 16,704 
			 2004-05 119,790 15,628 
			 2003-04 116,521 14,117 
			 2002-03 110,592 11,833 
			 2001-02 108,085 11,584 
			 2000-01 106,434 11,374 
			 1999-2000 106,303 11,363 
			 1998-99 104,305 10,832 
			  Notes:  1. Revenue is also received from the Civil Aviation Authority for the Met Office's public task. In 2007-08 this amounted to 18,211,000.  2. The Met Office also provides weather and climate related services on a commercial basis. In 2007-08 this generated revenue of 26,989,000.

Military Bases: Security

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many break-ins were reported at UK military bases in each of the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: The numbers of break-ins reported to the Ministry of Defence police at UK military bases in each of the last 12 months are shown in the following table.
	For the purpose of this answer we have defined break-ins at UK military bases as all reported instances of burglary and trespassing at MOD establishments.
	
		
			   Burglaries  Trespass 
			  2007   
			 October 5 13 
			 November 2 10 
			 December 6 16 
			
			  2008   
			 January 7 17 
			 February 6 12 
			 March 15 8 
			 April 10 4 
			 May 11 11 
			 June 6 7 
			 July 3 16 
			 August 7 17 
			 September 3 11 
			 Total 81 142

Nimrod Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current  (a) in-service date and  (b) cost of the Nimrod MRA4 is.

Quentin Davies: The current forecast in-service date for Nimrod MRA4 is 2010. The current forecast procurement cost is 3,602 million.

Nimrod Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recommendations of the Nimrod XV230 crash board of inquiry report have been implemented to date.

Bob Ainsworth: Of the 33 recommendations made by the Board of Inquiry (BOI) into the loss of Nimrod XV230, 22 have been implemented in full. This includes seven recommendations which relate to air-to-air refuelling (AAR), which are considered to be closed because AAR for the Nimrod has been prohibited.
	Work on eight of the BOI recommendations is ongoing. The remaining three recommendations have not been taken forward as it is considered that their intent has been met through other means.

Parachute Regiment: Manpower

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) establishment and  (b) current strength is of each of the three battalions of the Parachute Regiment.

Bob Ainsworth: The current strength of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment is 646 and 607 respectively. The establishment of both Regiments is 654. I am withholding data for 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment, as their release would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Peacekeeping Operations

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to improve conditions for Royal Marines wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq requiring hospital treatment.

John Hutton: The Ministry of Defence and the Defence Medical Services (DMS) are committed to providing a high standard of treatment to our wounded service personnel regardless of service. We review both clinical and administrative aspects of patient care, based on feedback from theatre and hospitals, and implement improvements to them as necessary. The cross-party House of Commons Defence Committee in its February 2008 report on 'Medical care for the Armed Forces', declared that:
	The clinical care for Servicemen and women seriously injured on operations is second to none. DMS personnel, working with the NHS, provide world-class care and we pay tribute to them.

Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on transporting family members to airports to meet returning service members coming home from operations in each month since January 2003.

Kevan Jones: It is not Ministry of Defence policy to transport family members to airports to meet service personnel returning from operations.

Russia: Armed Forces

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received of the recent joint naval military exercise conducted by Venezuela and Russia; what response he has made to those reports; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We are aware of recent media reports about a joint Russian-Venezuelan naval military exercise in 2008 but have no information that such an exercise has yet taken place.

Social Services: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's total expenditure was on payments to welfare associations, as listed in his Department's resource account code hierarchy, in near cash terms, in each financial year since 2000-01.

Bob Ainsworth: The total resource costs against this resource account code are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Welfare Associations (000) 
			 2000-01 10 
			 2001-02 10 
			 2002-03 10 
			 2003-04 8 
			 2004-05 1 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0 
		
	
	Near cash expenditure is not separately identified in the final resource accounts or the centrally held supporting records. Total resource costs have therefore been provided; however it is unlikely that there are any non-cash costs attributed to the expenditure items which would result in the near cash expenditure being different from the resource expenditure.
	There is an apparent tailing off of expenditure against this resource account code, this is not as a result of MOD ceasing to provide funds for these activities; the expenditure is now reported against a different resource account code and is not separately identifiable.

Submarines

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of attack submarines in service in the Royal Navy in each of the next 10 years.

Bob Ainsworth: On present plans, which are regularly reviewed, the number of Attack submarines in each year is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of vessels 
			 2009 8 
			 2010 8 
			 2011 7 
			 2012 7 
			 2013 7 
			 2014 7 
			 2015 7 
			 2016 7 
			 2017 7 
			 2018 7 
		
	
	From 2011 onwards there will be occasions when we briefly have eight submarines in service, as the Astute class gradually replaces the Swiftsures and Trafalgars, but the number will usually be seven.

Territorial Army: Dental Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to allow members of the Territorial Army to be treated by dentists employed by the army free of charge at army premises.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no plans to change our current policy on provision of dental treatment to the Territorial Army.

Tides: Timetables

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will arrange for the Hydrographic Office to issue tide times for 2009.

Kevan Jones: Tidal predictions are available from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) in print, as software and online.
	Admiralty EasyTide online service provides free tidal predictions for over 7,000 ports worldwide for the next seven days. Admiralty TotalTide software is accepted by the UK Maritime Coastguard Agency and other maritime administrations for use by SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) vessels, and can also be purchased for leisure and domestic use.
	Official tide times, predictions and relevant data for 2009 are already available within Admiralty Tide Tables. They can be purchased online via the UKHO Admiralty webshop at:
	http://www.admiraltyshop.co.uk
	via one of the Admiralty distributors listed at:
	http://www.ukho.gov.uk/amd/howtobuy.asp
	or viewed free of charge in a good reference library.
	Official worldwide tide predictions are published no sooner than eight months in advance of a new year to ensure that they use the latest available information but in sufficient time for customers' planning needs.
	UKHO does, however, make the predictions available, e.g. through software or online services, years in advance. UKHO, however, cautions use of such predictions for safety critical work as predictions can change over time.
	UKHO tide predictions are licensed to many organisations and individuals for a variety of public purposes and publications, the majority being free-of-charge licences.
	Real-time tides are monitored at discrete locations by Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory through whom real-time tide gauge readings are available. Historical raw tide gauge data are obtainable from British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC). Other agencies may also collect tidal data.

TREASURY

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the average real price of units of alcohol  (a) consumed in pubs and  (b) bought in retail outlets for each main unit of alcohol over the last (a) 10 and (b) 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: A 10-year comparison of the latest available annual figures is shown below. A 20-year comparison is not available.
	
		
			  Average real (2007) prices 
			   Beer (Pint)  Wine (75cl bottle)  Whisky (70cl bottle) 
			  Pubs
			 2007 2.44 13.05 39.41 
			 1997 2.24 11.36 48.36 
			 
			  Retail
			 2007 1.00 3.99 9.72 
			 1997 1.35 4.45 13.86 
		
	
	Real prices do not reflect affordability, which will include measures of, for instance, consumer income.

Building Societies

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission research on the effects of the demutualisation of former building societies on the wider financial system.

Ian Pearson: The Government supported research by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Building Societies and Financial Mutuals on the impact of demutualisation, the findings of which were published in March 2006. The Government continue to monitor activity in the sector and support action to make the process of demutualisation more transparent and accountable to members of building societies.

Coinage: Forgery

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he has issued to the public on how to recognise a counterfeit 1 coin; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Royal Mint includes information on ways that a counterfeit 1 coin might be identified on the 'Frequently Asked Questions' section of its website
	www.royalmint.gov.uk.

Credit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what correspondence his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials had with banks and their representatives on the provision of affordable credit in each year since 1997; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence;
	(2)  what meetings his Department's  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials had with banks and their representatives to discuss the provision of affordable credit in each year since 1997; which banks were represented in each case; and what the date and location of each meeting was.

Ian Pearson: The Government are in continuing close contact with the banking sector. Treasury Ministers and officials meet and correspond with representatives of the banking sector on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of financial services issues, including the provision of affordable credit. It is not appropriate to provide details of all such engagements.
	The banks have supported the Government's work to promote access to affordable credit and to expand the lending capacity of third sector lenders such as Credit Unions and CDFIs. In December 2007 the major UK retail banks made a formal commitment to support this work including actions to develop new provision in 25 high priority areas identified by the Financial Inclusion Taskforce.

Economic Situation

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions there have been between the European Commission and the Government on ways to prevent a repeat of the financial market turbulence of the summer of 2007.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers have had regular discussions with European colleagues, including the European Commission, on the appropriate international response to market turbulence.

Equitable Life

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report on the regulatory supervision of Equitable Life; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 October,  Official Report, column 1000W.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Michael Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what net revenue was generated in 2007-08 from excise duty on  (a) petrol,  (b) diesel and  (c) red diesel.

Angela Eagle: Historical excise duty receipts from diesel, petrol and red diesel (also referred to as gas oil) can be found in table 3 of the HM Revenue and Customs Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin, a copy of which can be found at:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?task=bulloil

Housing: Owner Occupation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment the Financial Services Authority has made of the level of risk of buying a house.

Ian Pearson: The FSA publishes information for consumers aimed at highlighting the risks involved in buying a home, available at:
	http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/guides/buying_a_home/buying_a_new_home.html.

Interest Rates

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss the level of UK interest rates; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government do not comment on or have input into, individual interest rate decisions taken by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. To do so would compromise the arrangements for independence of the Bank of England that the Government put in place in 1997 and would squander the credibility gains that have resulted from those arrangements.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer regularly has meetings with the Governor of the Bank of England, to discuss a wide range of issues.

Pension Funds: Housing

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to review his Department's decision not to allow the inclusion of residential property in pension funds.

Ian Pearson: The Government support the ability to choose a diverse range of assets to support pension saving in registered pension schemes.
	Most registered pension schemes can already invest directly in residential property without any tax disadvantage and all pension schemes can invest indirectly in residential property without tax disadvantage.
	Scheme members may not use tax relieved funds for personal use items such as second homes.

Private Finance Initiative

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many private finance initiative projects have not met their contractual obligations; for how many projects contracts have been re-registered; and how many projects have reverted to public ownership.

Yvette Cooper: A principle of PFI contracts is to protect the public sector from poor service delivery. This is achieved through the operation of the payment mechanism. Should a service provided through a PFI contract not meet the standard specified, the authority may make reductions in payments to the contractor in order to create an incentive to improve performance. Where this proves insufficient, it is possible that the PFI provider may be replaced by the funders. If that fails to resolve matters, it is possible for the contract to be terminated by the authority.
	The Treasury does not hold information centrally on projects where this has occurred.

Tax Credit

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of those registered for tax credits were receiving payments in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: Information on the number of families benefiting from tax credits as at April 2008 is reported in the HMRC publication Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics April 2008. This publication is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Tax Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many TC647 forms have been produced since their introduction; and how many unused forms have been  (a) discarded and  (b) recycled since their introduction;
	(2)  whether tax credits claimants are entitled to receive form TC647 on request.

Stephen Timms: For information on the number of forms produced up to and including 2007-08 I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave him on 21 May 2008,  Official Report, column 307W. Around 1,000 such notices have been issued in 2008-09 to date.
	TC647 calculation notices for tax credits awards made prior to 6 April 2006 are produced as a result of requests made by tax credits customers. Information is not kept on the number of TC647s discarded or recycled.

Tax Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department has taken to ensure that staff working in tax credit helpline call centres are trained about claimants' entitlement to be sent TC647 forms.

Stephen Timms: Advisers working on the tax credits helpline have access to on-line support and advice tools to help them in answering customers' questions. This is kept up to date and advisers are informed when changes are made to the tax credits system or when this guidance is amended.

Tax Yields: Betting

Mark Durkan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received from betting on  (a) horse racing and  (b) greyhound racing in Northern Ireland in the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: HMRC do not have geographic data on general betting duty, or a breakdown of the data into revenue received from betting on horse racing and greyhound racing. Total general betting duty is published in the HMRC Betting and Gaming bulletin, a copy of which can be found at:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullbett

Taxation: EC Action

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Government was informed by the European Commission that it was considering proposing amendments to the Capital Adequacy Directive.

Ian Pearson: As outlined on page 4 of the European Commission's proposal to amend the Capital Requirements Directive, the Commission has been developing proposals since 2005.
	The document can be found here:
	http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/bank/docs/regcapital/crd_proposal_en.pdf

Taxation: EC Action

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Government received a copy of the European Commission's proposed amendments to directives 2006/48/EC and 2008/49/EC.

Ian Pearson: The Commission published its proposal to amend the Capital Requirements Directive on 1 October 2008.
	A copy can be found here:
	http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/bank/docs/regcapital/crd_proposal_en.pdf

Taxation: EC Action

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government has had discussions with the Leader of the Opposition and leaders of other UK political parties on the European Commission's proposals to amend EU directives 2006/48/EC and 2008/49/EC.

Ian Pearson: There have been no such discussions as far as I am aware.

Taxation: Property

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many capital gains calculations were apportioned under principal private residence rules in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many principal private residence elections have been made in each of the last five years; and how many such elections represent individuals making  (a) two,  (b) three and  (c) four or more elections;
	(3)  what estimate has been made of the cost to the Exchequer in terms of tax revenue foregone of allowing individuals to elect their principal private residence in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the effect on capital gains tax revenues of trends in the sales of residential properties following the reforms to capital gains tax announced in the October 2007 Pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available.
	It is not possible to determine from HM Revenue and Customs sources the number of principal private residence relief elections made nor the cost to the Exchequer of such elections. The latest estimates for the cost of principal private residence relief excluding taxpayer behaviour are published in table 7 of the Tax Ready Reckoner on the HM Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr_csr07_tax readyreckoner.pdf
	Capital gains tax paid depends on the taxpayer's total gains, losses, and reliefs claimed so it is not possible to attribute amounts of tax to separate disposals. The latest available figures for the number of disposals, disposal value and gains made on assets disposed of in 2004-05 by type of asset, including residential property, are available in National Statistics table 14.4 on the HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/capital_gains/table14-4.pdf
	Equivalent data for 2008-09, following the reforms to capital gains tax announced in the October 2007 pre-Budget report, will not be available until at least October 2011.

Taxation: Property

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue foregone each year from not taxing capital gains by non-UK residents in relation to UK real estate in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: No estimate of the revenue foregone from not taxing capital gains on UK real estate owned by non-UK residents is available.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pension Credit

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on recipients of pension credit of the reduction of the backdating period for the credit.

Rosie Winterton: The Department published an Equality Impact Assessment in respect of the proposed changes to the time for claiming pension credit from 12 months to three months. The report is available on the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Pension Credit

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase take-up of pension credit.

Rosie Winterton: We want every pensioner to claim the benefits they are entitled to which is why we have made claiming more straightforward. Many claims can now be made in one phone call with no forms to fill in and we are always looking at ways to make the application process simpler. We have a range of initiatives such as sophisticated data matching to ensure older people are aware of and take up their entitlements.

Remploy

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the modernisation of Remploy; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Remploy's modernisation plan was announced to the House by the Secretary of State on 29 November 2007.
	Remploy are currently implementing their five-year modernisation plan, which will see a greater emphasis on supporting more disabled people into mainstream jobs. This will be around 20,000 people per year by 2013.
	The modernisation plan saw the closure of 18 factories and the merger of 11 sites with other local factories.

Remploy

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on the modernisation of Remploy; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill).

Post Office Card Account

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department expects to announce the successful bidder for the contract to provide the Post Office card account.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George).

Post Office Card Account

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department will announce the result of the competition for the contract to provide the Post Office card account.

James Purnell: This is a commercial tendering process, bound by UK and European law. We will announce the outcome when that is completed.

Benefit Backdating

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of people who will be affected by and  (b) the financial effects of reducing the backdating period for pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Rosie Winterton: The Department published an Equality Impact Assessment in respect of the proposed changes to the time for claiming pension credit from 12 months to three months. The report is available on the Department for Work and Pensions website. The financial effects of the changes to the backdating rules are included in the Command Paper which was laid in Parliament alongside the Regulations on 15 September.

Unemployment

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to assist the long-term workless to enter employment.

Tony McNulty: Since their introduction, new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus have helped over a million job seekers into work.
	We are modernising jobseeker's allowance and introducing the flexible new deal to build on our success, providing more personalised employment support matched with increasing expectations of someone as a claim continues.
	Our recent Green Paper sets out a further range of options to reduce welfare dependency and support more people into work, to provide greater support and control for disabled people and to strengthen parental responsibility.

Unemployment

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of future trends in the level of unemployment in the UK.

Tony McNulty: The jobseeker's allowance count rose last month to 939,000. There are 608,000 vacancies in the economy and 80 per cent of claimants leave jobseeker's allowance within six months..
	While we do not predict future levels of unemployment, we are planning for the impact of higher levels of jobseeker's allowance claims in the coming months. Clearly this is a sensible approach given the expected trends during a time of slower economic growth.

Benefits Contract

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to award the contract for the delivery of work and pensions benefits.

Rosie Winterton: I assume the hon. Member is referring to the contract to replace the post office card account. We will act in good time before the present contract ends.

Departmental Telephone Services

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what agencies or units for which his Department is responsible require the public to make telephone calls to them on numbers which charge more than the national call rate; and how much income each such agency derived from such charges in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The main telephone numbers used by the Department for Work and Pensions are 0800 and 0845. The use of these 08 numbers allows the Department opportunities to reduce customer confusion by minimising the volume of contact numbers advertised to the extent the Department can control this to offer free calls or low cost calls to the majority of our customers.
	For 0800 numbers, which are typically provided for our claim lines, the call is free for customers who use BT landline or public call box facilities. BT remains the service provider with the largest market share. Many other landline service providers do not charge for these calls, but this cannot be guaranteed by the Department as the contract is between the customer and his service provider and can be subject to change. Customers contacting us by their personal mobiles will be alerted that charges will apply if they proceed with the call and if the customer advises us that they are concerned about these charges we will call them back. Again the Department cannot control the charges made by mobile service providers.
	For 0845 numbers BT customers pay a charge which is broadly the same as national call rates. Other service provider charges will vary and may be higher. Calls from mobiles are likely to be higher and again the Department will call customers back if they are concerned about the charges.
	The Department is currently conducting a review of the issues associated with its numbers and the charges that apply to customers. However it recognises that the telecom market is constantly changing and any change the Department makes need to be sustainable.
	The Department no longer receives any income from its use of telephone numbers used to access its services. Prior to December 2007 the Department did receive a rebate of 500,000 per annum on 0845 calls and this was used to help provide free call services for customers.

Departmental Written Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what date his Department expects to release to the hon. Member for Yeovil the information in respect of the traffic light system for written parliamentary questions, as required by the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice of 8 September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The hon. Member for Yeovil received this information on 10 October.

Disability Living Allowance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how frequently claimants of disability living allowance are assessed.

Jonathan R Shaw: Once entitlement to disability living allowance is established, the frequency of reassessment varies according to the individual circumstances of the case. For example, a claim may be reassessed if a customer reports a change in their circumstances, or information is received suggesting that there has been a change of circumstances since the original award of benefit was made. In addition, where a fixed period award is nearing its end point, the customer is invited to submit a new claim which is then assessed on the current evidence before a new decision is made on entitlement. Other claims may continue throughout the period of the award without being reassessed.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 16 July,  Official Report, columns 474-5W, on income support: lone parents, how many and what proportion of the 8,950 customer-facing staff have received specific training on the changes to the eligibility rules for income support affecting lone parents coming into effect in November 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: A holding replay was sent on Monday 13 October 2008.
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie 20 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question pursuant to the Answer of 16 July,  Official Report, columns 474-5W, on income support: lone parents asking how many and what proportion of the 8,950 customer-facing staff have received specific training on the changes to the eligibility rules for income support affecting lone parents coming into effect in November 2008. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	We have made good progress in the last few months communicating to our customer-facing staff the changes that will be taking place and how these fit into the Government's welfare reform and child poverty agendas.
	Our training delivery started on 13 October and we have in place arrangements to deliver over 350 learning events that would equate to 4,371 of our customer-facing staff being trained before the 'go live' date of 24 November. We have a phased rollout of training planned in line with the expected increase in volume of work.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 1685W, on lone parents: income support, what progress has been made in developing a communication strategy to support the changes to the eligibility rules for income support affecting lone parents coming into effect in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: A holding reply was sent on 13 October 2008.
	A communication strategy to support the changes to the eligibility rules for income support affecting lone parents has been agreed by DWP Communications and policy officials and is currently being implemented.
	The strategy has a very clear focus on the need for timely and accurate communications to (1) customers affected by the changes, (2) Jobcentre Plus staff in roles impacted by the changes, and (3) external stakeholders involved in giving accurate advice to customers. We have ensured that all communications activities are properly co-ordinated, and fit with messages about the Government's wider agenda for increasing the number of people in paid work and reducing child poverty.
	Key objectives of the communications strategy are to ensure that the following audiences receive co-ordinated, timely and tailored messages, as follows:
	Existing lone parent customers and those making new or repeat claims to income supportunderstand the changes and how they will be affected.
	Advisers working with customersknow how the changes will impact on them and their lone parent customers.
	Stakeholders external to Jobcentre Plusare clear on these changes and the effect they will have upon them and their customers.
	To meet these objectives the strategy includes the following:
	Mailshots sent direct to specific lone parent customers, which outline the effect that the changes may have on them, including new requirements for quarterly attendance at work-focused interviews and how their claim to disability premium could be affected (where relevant).
	A further mailshot in November 2008 to lone parents affected, confirming that the changes have been approved by Parliament. This will be supported by local mailshots to offer voluntary interviews six weeks prior to the end of the lone parents' income support.
	Providing lone parent customers with detail information factsheets that clearly outline the changes for them and the action they may need to take with the support of their adviser.
	A leaflet and poster campaign to explain in visual format the steps each lone parent will take as the changes impact them.
	Local 'Options and Choices' events for lone parents that explain the changes and offer advice and guidance in preparing for work (these have been in place since April 2008).
	Publication of details of the changes on both the DWP and Jobcentre Plus Internet sites.
	A range of products available to Jobcentre Plus staff to ensure that they are able to deliver the correct messages to customers including briefings, desk aids, presentations, key messages, links to guidance and supporting articles in internal publications. This also includes road shows delivered to senior managers to ensure understanding of the changes.
	Numerous presentations to key external stakeholders and close engagement with external lone parent voluntary groups.
	The same approach is proposed for introduction of Phase 2 of the changes in 2009 and Phase 3 in 2010. However, in spring 2009 we will evaluate the Phase 1 communications and feed these findings into communication plans for the next phases.

Jobcentre Plus: Occupational Health

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much Jobcentre Plus spent on staff counselling in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: Jobcentre Plus, as an executive agency of DWP, has access to the DWP Employee Assistance Programme. This is a wide ranging service designed to provide advice, guidance and support on a range of issues. This includes counselling, for both employees and their dependants.
	The costs for counselling have never been invoiced separately and therefore cannot be provided.

Pension Disability and Carers Service: Publicity

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Pensions Service has spent on its Full of Life campaign; and how the performance of the programme will be measured against his Department's public service agreement.

Rosie Winterton: The 'Full of Life' activity on and around Older People's Day was a broad-based effort coordinated by the Department for Work and Pensions and involving the Pension, Disability and Carers Service, Jobcentre Plus and a wide range of local and national stakeholders and local groups.
	There was no budget allocated within the Pension, Disability and Carers Service, however, the Department for Work and Pensions has spent 238,396.43 to date on the 'Full of Life' campaign.
	Supporting Public Service Agreement 17: Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and well-being in later life, the 'Full of Life' activity highlights and celebrates the huge contribution older people make to our society and communities, improving the awareness and take up of the range of services and support available to older people, as well as tackling stereotypes of older age.
	'Full of Life' is part of a wider-strategy to deliver this PSA. Making progress against the indicators is an incremental and long term process and we would not expect to make a measurable impact on attitudes and behaviour as a direct result of Older Peoples Day 2008. In these early years we are aiming to establish the day and are evaluating awareness of the day, media coverage and the scale of participation on the day.

Pensioners: Carer's Allowance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider paying carers allowance to pensioners; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Since October 2002 carers aged 65 or over have been able to qualify for carer's allowance on the same basis as younger carers. The general principle is that if a claimant qualifies for more than one non-means-tested income replacement benefit the higher benefit is paid. Therefore, if a carer is receiving a state pension they would not be paid a carer's allowance unless their state pension was less than the rate of carer's allowance.
	Over 400,000 carers receive income-related benefits including income support, jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit, council tax benefit and pension credit which are paid at a higher rate because they are entitled to carer's allowance. The higher rate is paid even if the carer satisfies the qualifying rules for carer's allowance but receives a state pension at a higher rate and as a result cannot be paid carer's allowance.

Pensioners: Economic Situation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps the Government have taken to assist pensioners in the current economic climate;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government have taken to assist pensioners in reducing their household bills.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 October 2008
	There is a statutory requirement to review all social security benefits each year and to increase certain benefits from April each year.
	The increases are calculated for most benefits using the annual inflation figure for the preceding September. This ensures that benefits keep their real value in broad terms, and any fluctuations throughout the year feed into this rate.
	In addition the Government continue to monitor the economic situation very closely.
	The Chancellor announced in his Budget 2008 speech that for winter 2008-09 an additional payment will be made alongside the winter fuel payment. Households with a member aged 60 to 79 will receive an additional 50 and households with a member aged 80 or over will receive an additional 100. This makes the winter fuel payment 250 and 400 respectively for winter 2008-09 which provides a significant contribution towards an older person's winter fuel bill.
	On 11 September 2008 the Government announced a new 1 billion package of measures to help people cut their energy bills. Measures on offer deliver significant energy savings including increased help with cavity wall and loft insulation. 11 million lower income and pensioner households are eligible for these free of charge. And for winter 2008-09 cold weather payments will increase in value from 8.50 to 25.00. Cold weather payments are made to vulnerable people in receipt of qualifying benefits, including pension credit, if there is a period of very cold weather in their area.
	Addressing pensioner poverty has been one of the Government's key priorities since 1997. The number of pensioners in relative poverty in the UK has fallen from 2.9 million in 1998-99 to 2.1 million in 2006-07. Once housing costs are accounted for, pensioners are less likely to be in poverty than the population as a whole.
	Pension credit, a key element of the strategy to tackle pensioner poverty, ensures no pensioner need live on less than 124.05 for single people and 189.35 for couples. It makes a difference to the income of millions of older people. Since pension credit was introduced in 2003 the number of pensioners in relative poverty has fallen by around 500,000.
	Non-cash benefits in kind make a real difference to the lives of millions of UK pensioners. These include free NHS prescriptions and eye tests for those over 60 and free TV licences for those over 75. People aged over 60 and disabled people living in England are entitled to free England-wide off-peak bus travel, and similar schemes are available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. British Citizens born before 2 September 1929 can apply for a free 10-year UK passport and from April 2009 local authorities will be able to offer free swimming to the over 60s, in a scheme jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions.

Pensions Regulator: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the Pension Regulator has not replied to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare's letters of 13 May, 23 June and 28 July 2008 on behalf of his constituent Mr. Leyshon; and when he will reply to those letters.

Rosie Winterton: DWP officials have contacted the Regulator and they have confirmed receipt of your letter dated 13 May. They replied to this letter on 29 May. I have asked that this reply be sent on again to ensure you receive it.
	Discussions with your constituency office have confirmed that there is now no need to reply to the letters dated 23 June or 28 July.

State Retirement Pensions: Automated Credit Transfer

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department and its agencies received claiming that a pension has been paid into a bank account other than the nominated one in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Since 1 April 2004, 154 such complaints have been received.
	 Source:
	The Pension Service Respond data system.

Workers Registration Scheme: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people registered on the Workers Registration Scheme there have been in each London borough in each year since the new scheme was introduced in May 2004.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Home Office only records the regional distribution of workers from A8 countries when they first registered to the worker registration scheme. Data by local authority were published in August 2008 in concert with the Accession Monitoring Report (AMR) on the Local Government Analysis  Research (LGAR) website.
	The following table shows the last published available data by local authority for the number of workers when they first registered to the worker registration scheme (WRS) in each London borough since the scheme was introduced.
	
		
			  Local authority  May 2004to March 2006  April to December 2006  January to December 2007  January to June 2008 
			 Barking and Dagenham 250 85 135 50 
			 Barnet 3,170 580 1,155 550 
			 Bexley 285 85 130 60 
			 Brent 2,160 685 1,070 405 
			 Bromley 515 155 220 95 
			 Camden 5,435 1,640 2,335 995 
			 City of London 1,955 710 915 510 
			 Croydon 1,225 390 610 265 
			 Ealing 3,745 1,310 1,970 935 
			 Enfield 1,175 465 625 295 
			 Greenwich 750 340 485 205 
			 Hackney 1,255 330 540 325 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,555 1,120 1,380 630 
			 Haringey 1,650 410 580 305 
			 Harrow 1,410 500 810 165 
			 Havering 285 220 260 115 
			 Hillingdon 2,785 875 1,355 560 
			 Hounslow 1,785 670 1,045 440 
			 Islington 1,715 505 745 410 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,440 595 820 435 
			 Kingston upon Thames 705 205 285 145 
			 Lambeth 1,060 420 525 355 
			 Lewisham 625 150 195 80 
			 Merton 1,280 395 535 265 
			 Newham 1,045 335 330 215 
			 Redbridge 625 635 750 330 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,190 340 500 300 
			 Southwark 3,110 845 1,220 560 
			 Sutton 345 115 160 115 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,515 585 845 360 
			 Waltham Forest 900 275 505 210 
			 Wandsworth 1,890 515 630 305 
			 Westminster 11,745 3,270 4,260 2,145 
			 Total 62,575 19,775 27,920 13,150 
			 Notes: 1. 99 per cent. of approved nationwide applications currently have an accurate postcode. Applications where postcodes could not be matched to the Office of National Statistics database are excluded from this data-set.  2. Figures based on employers address and the date the application is approved, rather than the date on the application form as used in the Accession Monitoring Report.  3. Figures are rounded to nearest five.  4. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to total shown.  5. The table presents a gross (cumulative) figure for the number of workers applying to the WRS. The figures are not current, an individual who has registered to work and who leaves employment is not required to de-register, so some of those counted will have left the employment for which they registered and indeed some are likely to have left the UK. 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.